


love isn't brains, it's blood

by gaypanic



Series: love isn't brains, it's blood [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fusion, F/F, Minor Character Death, Minor Prince Charming | David Nolan/Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard, Slow Burn, Vampire Slayer AU, Vampire Slayer!Emma, Vampire!Regina, emma is 18 and regina is '23', no buffy knowledge required
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-07
Updated: 2017-09-07
Packaged: 2018-12-20 09:58:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 133,232
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11918478
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gaypanic/pseuds/gaypanic
Summary: “What’s so funny?” At the sound of that voice behind her, Emma spins around, nearly tripping again. Her green eyes meet dark ones, and the woman before her is smirking, not so much evil as she is amused. Emma turns her eyes away, only to find them back on Regina’s outfit before she catches herself and looks at the space above the brunette’s head.“What do you want, Regina?” Instinctively, she grips the stake in her hand, noting the way Regina’s eyes flicker to it with a knowing smile.“I just want to talk.”(Vampire Slayer AU, in which being the Slayer isn’t the only thing Emma’s having trouble accepting)





	1. Welcome to Storybrooke

**Author's Note:**

> This has been one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I couldn't be more grateful for everything that has come from it. I have made so many amazing friends, and I love you all.
> 
> To everyone orchestrating SQ Supernova, I can't thank you enough for providing this opportunity. You're all so amazing and creative and supportive, and while I don't know you personally, I think you're amazing.
> 
> To my artist, Evie, you are INCREDIBLE, and it has been so fulfilling to share my fic with you and watch you bring it to life. You are so talented, and I love your art, both for my fic, and in general. You're an inspiration. Please check out her amazing cover art for this fic [here](http://archiveofourown.org/works/11912229)
> 
> To my beta, Sophie, THANK YOU for your endless support and help. For catching every single NEal and calling me out on some ridiculous mistakes. Your mad editing skills and your humor gave me life, and I can't wait for that to continue past supernova.
> 
> And finally,
> 
> To Danny. You started this journey with me as my cheerleader, and you're finishing it with me, not only as my cheerleader, but as one of my best friends. You supported me through every minute of me writing this fic, you helped me figure things out when I got lost, and you never let me lose faith. You have me believing in being my very best self, and I am incredibly lucky to have you in my life, and no matter what you say, I definitely couldn't have done this without you. (YP)
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I loved writing it!
> 
> [UPDATE: since originally posting this fic, I've gone back and edited so that Emma is now 18. I took off the underage tag as it's no longer applicable. the direction the series is going wasn't going to work if Emma was a teenager, so yeah. But her age is the only thing altered, so whatever bits I adjusted to account for it might be slightly different. She's in a special program that keeps her in "the system" until the end of high school and she had to retake her junior year for reasons. Don't get too technical please lmao this fic also has vampires so there aren't really any rules anymore. ENJOY)

Emma Swan may be relatively mediocre at quite a few things, but moving is not one of them. On the contrary, she is  _ excellent  _ at moving. She can pack up her small amount of things at record speed, ready to go within half an hour. She can look sad enough when saying goodbyes to look sincere so the people she’s leaving can either tear up or feel guilty, depending on the kind of people they are. She can adapt to a new place the moment she knows what it looks like, and she can usually discern whether the motives of a new family are mostly good or mostly bad. She can fake a smile like nobody’s business.

Before the incident, she considered herself a superhero. She’s always been able to tell when people are lying. When people are being fake, she senses it, and vice versa, she knows how to be fake and lie without people seeing right through her, and it’s gotten her far in her eighteen years of life. Most kids always said that Emma’s didn’t count as a real superpower. She wasn’t really powerful, she was just good at guessing or she knew how to pay attention. She would fight them on it and win, earning her superpower status once and for all. 

A superhero is all she ever wanted to be, but now, she wants nothing to do with it.

* * *

 

Emma sits quietly in the back of a taxi taking her to her new home. They drive past a rustic sign that reads “Welcome to Storybrooke” and all Emma can think is how much better that sounds than “Welcome to Meredith,” where she stayed in New Hampshire before this. Despite the cringy town name, Emma couldn’t deny how much it felt like home, until she ruined it. She hopes this place will be the same amount of homey, only without the creatures that ruined her life.

It looks homey enough, and Emma can’t help but be suspicious. The town looks  _ too perfect _ . They pull up to a two story house that is also  _ too perfect, _ and she gets out of the car, immediately greeted with a warm hug by an older man she can only assume is her new foster father and a warm grin from a guy around her age. The smiles on their faces are not only genuine, but are also  _ too perfect _ .

“You must be Emma.” Her new foster father shakes her hand with both of his, eyes full of warmth and comfort, smile nothing short of sweet. “My name is Marco, and this is my son, August.” He gestures to the teen behind him who pulls a hand out of his pocket to wave, stepping forward to shake Emma’s hand as well. It’s more firm than his father’s but it’s just as accepting.

“It’s great to meet you Emma. We’re happy to have you.” Emma smiles back softly.

“I’m happy to hear that. This place is… great. The town, your home, all of it. Seems like a nice place to live.”

Marco’s smile grows. “It absolutely is. The school is wonderful. You and August are in the same year, so you’ll have him to help you out tomorrow if you need him, though I’m sure you can handle yourself.” He chuckles softly and Emma joins him, not sure of what to say. She  _ can  _ handle herself, and likely won’t need the help, but she appreciates her new family’s kindness. August moves to help Emma with her bags, and the three head inside.

Marco stops in the atrium and turns to Emma. “It’s important for me that you feel welcome here.  _ Our  _ home is  _ your  _ home. We are family.” He rests his hand on Emma’s shoulder, giving her a soft little pat, before he turns to walk back through the house.

“Thank you, Marco.” It all still seems  _ too perfect _ , but Emma is determined to let herself get lost in the perfection of it without becoming suspicious or concerned. She deserves happiness too, and this seems like a perfect place to find it.

August gives her the “grand tour,” making sure Emma knows where all the bathrooms are, where the kitchen is, and where her room is - on the second floor. He leads her up the stairs, pointing out his room along the small hallway. He opens the door to a generic looking room, light grey walls, a double bed in the middle, a desk and a dresser, and two large casement windows, side by side, with beautiful dark red curtains. Emma’s positive she’s never had a room so nice all to herself in her life. “This is mine?”

August grins at her. “You like it?” Emma is speechless. Like doesn’t even begin to cover it. She wanders around the room, totally astonished, feeling the comfy bed blankets, opening random drawers on the dresser, opening and closing the window. “I’m gonna take your speechlessness as a yes.” August sets her stuff on the floor by her bed.

“I  _ seriously _ love it.” Emma turns back to August, totally sure she looks like a little kid on Christmas, but isn’t able to look like anything else. “This is amazing.”

August’s grin grows. “I’m  _ seriously _ glad you love it.” His tone becomes more significant as he continues. “You know, what my dad said about this being your home, and us being your family, he really means that. I, uh. I was put into the foster system when I was a baby.”

Emma’s eyes are suddenly wide open. “You’re a foster kid too?”

August chuckles. “I  _ was  _ a foster kid, but not anymore. Marco adopted me when I was eleven. He’d always wanted a kid, but was alone. He wanted to find a kid who he could help as much as the kid could help him, so he looked into foster care. Once he got all that sorted out, he took me in, and adopted me after a year.” He’s wearing the happiest smile as he tells this story, and Emma is just staring at him slack-jawed in surprise. “He’s the best dad I could have ever asked for, and I’m hoping he can be for you too.” With that August gives Emma one last smile and turns to walk out. “Oh, and Dad’s making dinner tonight. It should be ready by seven, so you should have enough time to get settled in. If there’s anything you need, just make a list, and he can get it from the store tomorrow.”

Emma nods as August closes the door behind him, and she sinks to the bed in awe. Any doubts she has of this place are immediately elevated. Emma’s never been one to believe in hope too much, but so far, things are looking up, and she might be convinced that hope and miracles are real just yet.

It isn’t long before Emma finds herself sitting at the dining room table with her new foster family, eating chicken parmesan and green beans and making light conversation about the kinds of things Emma enjoys - her hobbies, her favorite movies - and it’s amazing how at home she feels despite having lived there for less than two hours. She loved her former foster family, had always claimed it was her best so far, but this one has them beat, even if she excludes what drove them to give her up.

Emma doesn’t hesitate to take the task of doing the dishes from Marco and August, insisting that it’s the least she can do. They fight her on it just once before she insists again, and they happily let her help, which she appreciates. She wants to do anything to help them and stay in their good graces. Besides, she finds doing dishes therapeutic anyways, and it’s been her chore for as long as she can remember in every home she’s ever had. Just as it starts to rain, she lets the idea of “too perfect” go, lost in her elation and comfort of the moment before she hears something crash outside the window, and the safety net she’d managed to build up in the past couple of hours is suddenly gone. She stands stiffly at the sink, trying to squint out the window in front of her, looking for any flash of movement, any sign of  _ them _ , the last thing she wants to see here in Storybrooke, casually eyeing the door in the kitchen a few feet away. She panics, and thinks to herself,  _ No. Not here. They can’t be here, too. _

Transfixed on the rain pattering against the window and the contrast of the sound of the drops of rain pelting against the window with the smooth flow of tap water; Emma feels as though she’s been sucked right back into that night where everything came crashing down around her. The night she got kicked out. The night she decided that being a real superhero wasn’t worth it.

* * *

 

_ A clap of thunder shook Emma out of her reverie. It wasn’t supposed to storm tonight, but she didn’t mind. Watching storms was always fascinating to her, and she grinned when a flash of lightning lit up the backyard. It was weird listening to two kinds of water at once, the rain and the sink, but it just made the thunderstorm feel more surreal, taking Emma out of reality better than her thoughts were capable of doing.  _

_ Not that reality was bad. Emma loved her foster family, the nicest one she’d ever had. She didn’t have her own room, but her bed was comfortable. She would have rather had the top bunk and to not have to share with a squeally six-year old girl who preferred barbies to sleep, but she couldn’t complain. They made her feel welcome. _

_ A loud crash right outside the window suddenly had Emma frantic. The fight or flight response had always been strong for her, as well as her desire to protect, and she was outside in the rain still wielding the wooden spoon she was washing and the sponge she was washing it with. It wasn’t until she saw movement of a human-shaped-body that she wished she had thought better and grabbed a knife, but it was too late now because her eyes locked with the man’s dark eyes in front of her. It wasn’t until he spoke that she noticed another man behind the one closest to her. “Slayer,” he snarled. _

_ “You want to  _ slay  _ me? I think the fuck not.” Emma’s own words surprised her as were her following actions of tossing the sponge to the side and snapping the business end of the wooden spoon off to improvise a (hopefully better) makeshift weapon. She was suddenly in a fighting stance, armed and ready, and although she had only been in a handful of play fights or elementary wrestling matches in her time, she felt wholly prepared to take on two grown men. She brushed the strangeness of it all off and braced herself for attack.  _

_ As the body lunged toward her, she kicked him square in the chest, knocking him to the ground and found herself on top of him, pinning his arms down with her knees, the splintered end of the spoon held against his chest. She felt him wriggling beneath her, unable to get up, and for a moment it didn’t occur to her that that was odd. Her eyes were on the other guy, who stepped back with his hands up. A burst of successive flashes of lightning revealed his face, and she was stunned to see disfigurement. She glanced at the guy beneath her, and was even more astonished to see that he had the same disfigurement, a bumpy forehead jutting out just enough to make their eyes look sunken in, pupils dilated and black from what Emma could only imagine was adrenaline. _

_ At the look of confusion flashing across Emma’s face, the other guy made a move in her direction, and before she could register what she was doing, she pushed the wooden spoon into the guy beneath her, amazed at how seemingly little effort it took, and watched as he turned to dust, leaving her kneeling on the patio.  _

_ Wondering what had just happened, Emma was frozen, spoon in hand, totally caught off guard, when a boot roughly kicked her to her back. She was already soaked from the rain, but she still felt the splash of puddle around her. The man crouched over her, growling, “You don’t even know what I am do you? Or who you are?” He scoffed, starting to back away. “I’ll be back when you figure it out.” _

_ He had barely taken a step in the opposite direction when Emma found herself back on her feet, spinning him around, and throwing him into the side of the house, effectively pinning him to the wall. Desperate for answers she didn’t even have the questions for, Emma couldn't contain herself. “Tell me!” she yelled at him, inches from his face. _

_ For a while she heard nothing but the beating of the rain and her own labored breathing, thunder rolling in the background. There was fear in the guy’s eyes as his pupils narrowed exposing the hollow yellow that quaked as his eyes shifted across her face, contemplating how to escape. “You really don’t know a-anything?” he stammered. _

_ Frustration growing, Emma pushed him further into the wall, eliciting a whimper. When she spoke, her voice came out heavy and low, nearly a whisper. “I. Don’t. Know.  _ Anything _.” He wavered for a moment, looking as though he wanted to fight back before she pushed harder and inched closer and continued. “Tell me what you know or I’ll make you disappear like I did your friend.” _

_ Much to Emma’s surprise, the man let out a snicker that quickly turned into a rolling laughter, loud and aggravating. Emma shoved him harder as a reminder that she had the upper hand as well as to get him to shut up. It worked. Sly grin still plastered to his face, his voice came out gruff and shaky, “You think you made him disappear? That’s not what you did, sister. You  _ killed  _ him.” He chuckled as he watched the horrified realization spread across Emma’s face. _

_ “I - I what?” Her grip on him loosened ever so slightly as panic started to settle in. Another chuckle out of the man in front of her snapped her anger into place. “You’re lying. Who are you?” _

_ “You’re asking the wrong question. You should be asking  _ ‘what  _ am I?’” _

_ Emma shook her head in irritation. “Fine,” she nearly growled. “ _ What _ are you?” _

_ He grinned at her, lip curling upwards to expose his teeth, and she recoiled ever so slightly when she saw that the canines were too sharp and too long to be real. As if reading her mind, he snorted. “What do you think? I’m a vampire, and you’re the one chosen to kill me.” He took advantage of Emma’s shocked state to knock her backwards, her back hitting the ground, harder this time than the last, effectively knocking the wind out of her and gaining the advantage, pinning her down just the same as she had done to his friend before. _

_ When she finally recomposed herself, she realized that in the scuffle she had dropped her anticlimactic but surprisingly effective spoon of defense. Somehow she was able to maintain her composure, confident that she could make her way out of this, even if she wasn’t sure exactly how. “What do you mean, I’m ‘chosen’ to kill you? Who are you?” she insisted. _

_ “Who I am doesn’t matter. I’m just your average run-of-the-mill vampire who happened to get to you before anyone else could. I’m not sure who usually tells Slayers who they are, but I never thought I’d have the honors.” _

_ Realization sunk in as Emma heard him say the word again. “Slayer,” she said, trying it out on her tongue slowly, saying it for the first time. She didn’t know what it meant, but as soon as she said it, she could feel the weight of its importance settling within her, like some intrinsic gravity. “Why do you keep calling me that?” _

_ He rolled his eyes, loosening his grip on her but still effectively pinning her down. “Because that’s who you are. You’re the Slayer.” He stopped for a moment as if trying to recall something, “It goes like this, ‘ _ _ Into every generation a Slayer is born: one girl in all the world, a chosen one. She alone will wield the strength and skill to fight the vampires, demons, and the forces of darkness; to stop the spread of their evil and the swell of their number. She is the Slayer.’” He stopped and scoffed before continuing, “I know, I know, it sounds really gimmicky, and if it weren’t taught to us like some kind of vampire fairy tale, I’d say it was. But it’s the truth.” _

_ Emma stared at him, dumbfounded. She knew he wasn't lying because of her superpower.  _ Superpower _. The word suddenly felt different to her. She remembered the way she fell into the fight without any technical training, like she had known exactly what to do. How the first vampire hadn’t been able to throw her off of him like she was just an average seventeen year old girl and he was a bulky middle-aged man. How she had slid a wooden spoon, a  _ wooden fucking spoon _ , into his chest like it was butter and killed him. “So, is the Slayer--,” she paused, feeling the word shake her to her core once again, “Is the Slayer supposed to be some kind of superhero?”  _

_ Another scoff was released from the man - the vampire - leaning over her. “Define hero. But yeah, you have Slayer strength and stuff, which, sure, that’s technically like some kind of superpower.” _

_ She relaxed beneath his grip and felt it loosen even more. “And I’m the only one?” she asked quietly. _

_ “The one and only. Until you die of course. You’ve only just gotten called cause that’s what happened to the last one, but I didn’t kill her if that’s what you’re thinking. Someone else got her first, as usual.” He looked off, lost in thought, which was just what Emma needed to take the advantage back. Her arms were pinned to her sides, but she was able to sit up really fast, knocking him off of her enough for her to pick up her feet and send him staggering backwards. In his initial moments of disorientation, trying to find his balance again, she got back up on her feet and dove towards him, sending them both crashing into the patio furniture. Emma cringed when she heard the glass of the table shatter beneath them. His fist found her face, and she lost control of the situation momentarily as she frantically grasped for a weapon, not exactly sure what killing a vampire entailed other than what she did the first time, but unfortunately the spoon wasn’t in her line of vision. _

_ The rain had started coming down heavier, and if it weren’t for the faint light coming from the house and the frequent flashes of lightning, Emma wouldn’t be able to see much of anything, but for some reason her vision felt more adept than it should have in the dark, and she found herself wondering if that was a part of this Slayer superpower. Unwilling to let her mind distract her and be the death of her, she willed herself to stay focused, pulling everything she knew about fictional vampires forward, considering things she didn’t have. Holy water, an axe to chop through his head, fire.  _ Fire _.  _

_ He was inching closer to her, waiting for another opportunity to pounce, so she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Once she did, she would be giving him back the full advantage, so she shifted her direction and she knew she had done the right thing when her back hit the grill, and the vampire in front of her smiled victoriously, thinking he had the upper hand. She knew he didn’t but left her expression fearful. _

_ Emma’s hands hovered over the propane tank attached to the grill behind her, and before he could look down and notice what she was doing, she picked it up, ripping the hose in half to free the tank. She hurled it at the vampire in front of her, turning to open the grill’s drawer in the side; she quickly lit a match and flicked it towards him, crouching, unsure of what to expect.  _ _ She watched in both victory and horror as his body was engulfed in flames that temporarily sent him staggering backwards before, like the first vampire, he disintegrated before her eyes.  _

_ She wasn’t on fire, and he was gone, so she smiled in triumph until she realized that while  _ he _ had disappeared, the inflamed fumes and the gas leaking tank had not, it was dangerously close to the house, and despite the pouring rain, the flames were not subdued. It was then that Emma heard her name, spoken ever so softly, and she looked up to see her six year old foster sister standing in the still open kitchen door. “Laura! No!” Emma screamed, darting past the flames to the child, and nearly tackling her inside the house. “Run! Get the others and get out the front, by the street.” Emma turned to see the flames had followed her inside, and not long after, the fire alarm began to blare. _

_ Emma ran to the fire extinguisher, all but ripped the top off, and pointed it at the flames. It helped just enough to prevent the entire house from catching fire, but not enough to keep the house from being seriously damaged. Emma knew next to nothing about gas leaks, but she had a feeling that, given the circumstances, this was a miracle. _

_ Relieved, Emma turned, her foster parents staring at her disdainfully and fearfully. “What the  _ hell  _ do you think you’re doing?” Her foster father, Chris, spat out at her. She had never heard him sound so hateful. Young Laura was getting held protectively behind him by her mother. Laura’s older brother Michael standing a few feet away, petrified. _

_ Under the perturbed glares of her family, Emma suddenly realized what this looked like. For one, she had nearly set the house on fire. The patio was destroyed, Emma was soaking wet, leaving puddles of mud and rainwater across the kitchen, and the sink was still running. In the sharp silence, she only heard the rain and the sink, and everything felt surreal again, and she hoped this time it actually was. _

_ When she finally spoke, it sounded equal parts timid and angry, “I was protecting us. From--” and then something else sunk in. Not only could she not tell them who, or rather  _ what _ , she was protecting them from, she had no way to prove that there was anyone there at all. The trespassing vampires’ bodies were gone, and their muddy footprints on the patio washed over by the rain. She stopped, looking down at her socks, soaked and darkened with mud and what looked to be some blood, and tried not to let the tears welling up in her eyes fall. She knew she would need to stay strong. _

_ The fire department’s arrival interrupted Chris as he demanded an answer from Emma, who took it upon herself to walk back outside while firemen assessed the damage and made sure there were no other risks. _

_ Thirty minutes after the fire department arrived, child services came. Chris had already thrown Emma’s stuff into her duffel bag and her bookbag and left them both ready for her departure by the door. He had dropped her shoes next to her in the kitchen, so she put them on, hoping to avoid tracking anymore mud, and shuffled her way to the front door, not giving or receiving so much as a goodbye from what she had always thought of the best family she’s ever had. In the car, being torn away from the family she loved, the rain beat unrelenting against the window. _

* * *

 

A hand against her shoulder snaps her back to the present. “Emma?” She recoils instinctively before turning to meet August’s concerned eyes.

She tries to relax but fails. The thought that  _ they  _ could be here in Storybrooke is too much for her, and she can’t lose this family too. Her eyes dart to the window one last time before they land on August once again and soften ever so slightly, enough to take some of the worry out of his own. “Sorry, I’m fine.” She decides the noise was nothing. They couldn’t follow her here; she’s finished with being a superhero. She musters up a smile for August until he nods, definitely still looking unsure but seemingly deciding to trust her answer.

He smiles hesitantly in response. “If you need anything, you know where to find me. I know we’ve just met, but I already think of you as my friend and my sister, and I hope you know you can trust me. Maybe I can’t understand everything you’re going through and everything you’ve been through, but I’m here for you. I’m on your side.” He starts retreating backwards to leave, and Emma gives him a convincing “thank you” before he actually does. “Goodnight, Emma. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Night, August.” With that Emma finishes up the dishes. The noise outside was probably just a cat or a raccoon. She’s going to go to sleep tonight, wake up the next day, and go to school like a normal teenager. Nothing is going to change that.

* * *

 

Emma is so ready to start her normal, high school day that she’s ready before August is even out of bed. He trudges to the kitchen, bed head and eyes half open, and straight to the coffee pot, where coffee is already made and waiting for him. He notices Emma perched on a stool at the island counter sipping her own cup (her second) and eyes her suspiciously. “Ugh, you’re a morning person.”

She shakes her head, “Nope, not even a little. You should see me on a normal day. I definitely look worse than you do right now, and I definitely don’t initiate conversation.”

August pours his coffee, perking up a little just at the smell, “Is this not a normal day?” Emma looks pointedly at him. “Ah, first day of school. You must be excited, or nervous, or both?”

“Yeah, see, I can already tell you function better than I usually do in the mornings. I would be totally lost, unable to figure out even something as simple as that. “

August smirks. “Wow, I see. Do you make caveman noises as well?”

“I guess you’ll find out tomorrow.” Emma chuckles. “But yeah, no, I really am excited. Everything here so far has been amazing, and I have a good feeling.”

“You should. Storybrooke is a great place, and Storybrooke High is a great school. I mean, I haven’t been to any other high school, but I like this one. I’ve liked almost all the teachers I’ve had there, and my friends are totally great. I can’t wait to introduce you; we always have a good time.” August goes to pour himself a second cup of coffee, offering the last mugs-worth to Emma, who gladly accepts.

“Sounds awesome. I’m probably going to head out soon, actually.” Emma stands and moves to go upstairs to grab her things before August stops her.

“Hey, if you want, I’m driving. You can ride with me.” Emma raises her eyebrows at him. “I know, I know. I’m a new driver, just got my license a month ago, but I’m not terrible. I promise we’ll make it in one piece.”

Emma grins at him, but her mind is already made. “Maybe I’ll ride with you tomorrow. I’m up and feeling energetic, and I’ve gotta take advantage of that. Plus it’ll give me a chance to get acquainted with the town.” August nods.

“Seems fair. Be sure to find me later! I’ll show you around and introduce you to all the cool people!”

“Alright, August, I will.” She waves at him before grabbing her backpack and heading out the front door.

Storybrooke had looked nice enough yesterday when Emma was staring at it out the taxi window, but walking through it in the morning is a whole other story. Everyone is so friendly, smiling and waving and just being welcoming in general. If they didn’t look so sincere, Emma would think it was creepy, but she can tell it’s genuine. August had told her last night that they don’t often get new residents, so she figures this must be a pretty big deal for them. Besides, it’s not like they really know her by name, and they’re smiling and waving at everyone, new or not.

The school is only a fifteen minute walk away, which means that Emma gets there way earlier than anticipated. She makes her way to the main office to make sure all her paperwork is sorted and to get her class schedule, all of which gets worked out faster than Emma expected. This place is probably more organized than all the school’s Emma’s been to combined.

So now, Emma has found herself fully prepared for school an hour before she has to be in her first class with nowhere to go and nothing to do and no one to talk to. There’s hardly anyone walking through the hallways so Emma takes it upon herself to explore. 

Most of the place is pretty boring. The school is basically just one large building, with multiple floors and multiple hallways, lots of stairs, a basement that Emma is too creeped out by to step foot in, a few fields, athletic spaces, and a grassy courtyard with picnic tables outside encircled by the school building. Emma checks out the gymnasium and the track, impressed by their quality, and the cafeteria is kind of small, but she figures they encourage the students to eat in the courtyard, which is nice because of Vitamin D and all. The only thing even remotely interesting remaining to inspect, besides the creepy basement, is the library, which could be just as creepy as the basement, as Emma knows from experience, but she’s bored and has thirty minutes to kill and it’s worth the risk to find out.

The library is simultaneously exactly what she expected and not at all what she expected. Eerie in the most cheery way possible. Emma’s sure she wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but the second she steps through the doors, she feels a wave of comfort spreading through her that she’s never really felt before. She’s not sure what it is, but something about the library makes her feel intuitively safe, welcome, and kind of warm. Her reverie is broken by the sound of a strong, feminine, and peppy voice, and Emma snaps her eyes towards the speaker, locking eyes with a young woman, probably in her early to mid-twenties, with a pixie cut and a bright smile that reaches her entire face. “Hey!” Emma finds herself taking a step back without knowing why, noting that her level of comfort remains the same, if increasing slightly despite being in the presence of a total stranger. She manages a half grin, and the woman’s smile brightens, but at her next words, Emma’s half grin disappears. “I’m the librarian, Mary Margaret Snow. You’re Emma. Emma Swan.” She isn’t asking. 

Emma takes a step back, consciously this time, her heart starting to pound as the color drains from her face. She’s aware she may be the only new student, but something about this feels different. The certainty in the librarian’s eyes, the intrinsic sense of dread spreading through Emma’s veins as her mind travels to one thing and stays there.  _ This is about  _ them, she thinks. Somehow she just knows, but she doesn’t want it to be. “H-how do you know that?” Emma braces herself for the answer she hopes doesn’t come.

The woman moves towards Emma briskly, holding her hands up as a sign that her intentions are good, and Emma finds herself stepping back again, wishing she hadn’t ventured so far into the library. “Emma. I don’t mean to sound presumptuous or intense, but I knew you were coming and I know who you are,  _ what  _ you are.” She rests a hand on Emma’s shoulder, and Emma is too paralyzed to brush it off. The woman in front of her is looking at her too kindly, with too much understanding, and she probably knows even more than Emma does. She wouldn’t have to say a word for Emma to know that she’s telling the truth.

But she can’t. Because Emma is done with this. 

She opens her mouth to speak, but nothing comes out and she finds herself listening to the woman in front of her, gazing at Emma intently with more trust than Emma has ever seen in anyone. “I know you want to run from this. But you shouldn’t, and I don’t want you to. You have been called to something so special and so important, and I know that after what happened, it might be hard to see, but I encourage you to think about the bigger picture. Of all the good you can do. I would be honored to train you and guide you, if you’ll let me; I know a lot about this stuff.” 

Finally, Emma jerks her shoulder out from the woman’s grasp, taking a large backwards stride towards the door. Her hands are shaking. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Her voice quivers a little, and she’s way too aware that pulling herself from the comfort of this room is what’s causing it, despite wanting her circumstance to be the blame.

The librarian’s breath hitches watching Emma pull away so harshly. “I know that accepting being the Slayer is hard after what happened, but--”

“No.” Emma shakes her head firmly, putting her hands up in warning as she starts to become angry, heat spreading to her fingertips. “No. You do  _ not  _ get to talk about that. Knowing about this stuff is different than living it, so don’t act like you understand me just cause you know… cause you  _ think  _ you know who or what I am. All this - whatever it is - ruined my life, and I’m not about to let it do that again.” Emma walks more urgently to the door, avoiding the helpless eyes of the woman in front of her. “Just… leave me alone,” Emma enunciates before slipping out the door and darting down the hallway, not looking back.

From somewhere behind her not long after she leaves the library, she hears August calling out to her. “Hey, Emma! Wait up!” She turns to meet him. “Woah, are you okay? You look--”

“I’m fine,” she said, cutting him off before he can find the right word. She doesn’t need anyone else analyzing who she really is, not that August would figure it out. She still isn’t sure how the librarian knows, and she isn’t entirely sure she wants to. She’d rather just move on from the whole situation. Drop it entirely along with her superpower.

August eyes her suspiciously but doesn’t push any further. “Okaayy. Did you get everything worked out okay with the office?”

“Yeah, I did. I got here early, and they’re so organized, which was really convenient. I had enough time to give myself a tour so it looks like you’re off the hook,” she says, letting out a chuckle. “Marco was right. I can handle myself.”

He rolls his eyes. “Just wait, Swan, you’ll need my help sooner or later. What’s your schedule like? I wonder if we have any classes together.” She hands him the piece of paper, and he skims it, muttering beneath his breath. “This is a nice schedule. Unfortunately we only have one class together, and that’s gym, last period.”

“Oh, cool, I have gym? I haven’t actually looked too closely at this if I’m being totally honest.” She takes it back and looks it over, nodding. “Yeah, you’re right, it is pretty nice. Uh, but what does ‘assistantship assignment’ mean?” 

August shrugs. “Don’t know. I’ve never heard of anyone having that before. You should probably ask someone though.” The bell suddenly rings, making them both jump. “You can find all these rooms right?”

Nodding, Emma replies, “Sure, I think so. How hard can it be?” 

He snorts at her. “You’re so sure of yourself. I guess we’ll see. Anyway, we’ll have to meet up at lunch. I can introduce you to Neal and Ruby. They’re pretty much the best students here, besides us of course.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Emma waves her hand dismissively at him. “I’ll see you at lunch, I better get moving if I want to ask them about this mystery class.”

She and August part ways, him heading off to what August calls “pre-cal” and Emma calls “smart math,” and Emma to Latin II, which August said was a weird choice of foreign language because most people pick French or Spanish, but Emma had just shrugged. Of all the classes on her list, Latin is one of her favorites along with gym. Study Hall is okay.

She gets through most of her classes that morning without having to suffer through the horrible “new student” introductions she was expecting. Nothing interesting or out of the ordinary happens, and nobody else implies anything about her or even says much of anything to her. She doesn’t notice any unusual whispering behind her back, and all the people that say anything to her seem genuine. She has to pass by the library to get to study hall, and she intentionally finds a different path just to avoid running into the librarian again.

When study hall finally ends (it’s pretty boring when you have nothing to study and no friends to talk to) everyone is released to lunch. Emma gets her food and wanders, looking for August and eventually finding him outside at one of the picnic tables waving her over. “Emma! Hey! I gotta introduce you. This is Neal,” he gestures towards this goofy-grin-type guy, who does, in-fact, shoot her a goofy grin. “He’s probably the biggest dork you’ll ever meet.”

Neal snorts, “You’re the dork, dork.” And as laughter erupts around him, he swings his head down in defeat. “Touché. However, August is definitely the biggest nerd you’ll ever meet. He was going to choose computer science as his elective before I convinced him to be my woodshop buddy.”

“Yeah, yeah, I guess I can’t argue with you there,” August says, rolling his eyes. “I think woodshop is gonna be fun though. It might even be my favorite class this term.”

“You bet it will! Cause I’m in it!” Neal shakes August’s shoulder playfully, and the two have a buddy-buddy moment that Emma can’t help but grin at before Neal turns back to Emma, “Anyway, Emma, it’s great to meet you. We actually have a class together, other than last period gym which we all have together, American Lit, second period. We should sit together next time.

Emma nods, and goes in for a handshake that Neal not-so-smoothly turns into a fist bump. “Yeah, for sure, that would be nice.” As their fist bump comes to an end, another hand is in Emma’s initiating a handshake, Her eyes look up to meet the welcoming eyes of the tall girl in front of her. “You must be Ruby?”

Ruby grins, “Yep that’s me! We actually have a class together too, fourth period bio.”

“We already sit next to each other don’t we?” She nods and the two laugh together. “Okay so, if August is the nerd, and Neal is the dork, what does that make you?”

“Obviously, I’m the beauty,” she says, flipping her hair back dramatically. “But don’t let that fool you, I’m almost as smart as August.” She looks to him with a wink, and he nods to Emma in confirmation.

“It’s true.”

Ruby looks to Emma, giving her a solid once over before gripping Emma’s bicep. At the contact, Emma flexes instinctively and Ruby’s eyebrows shoot up. “Okay so that answers that question. You’re the brawn. August is the brains, I’m the beauty, and you’re the brawn. Neal’s the comic relief.”

“Hey!” Neal says, mock offended, and the two shove at each other in jest, while Emma watches, trying to smile and laugh along with August, but she can’t stop thinking if any of them are going to be suspicious. Emma’s always been athletic, and they would definitely pick up on that in gym class, but once everything changed for Emma, the muscles in her body had changed too. She’d always just said it was because of her hard work in the gym, but she knows better. And after what had just happened in the library, Emma doesn’t want to risk anyone else questioning her.

As they sit around the picnic table enjoying their lunch, Emma zones out, offering up a grin every so often when she hears the cues of her new friends’ laughter. It’s times like this when she’s the most grateful to be in the sun. Because  _ they  _ can’t be. Not that they’re here of course, they can’t be, Emma’s already decided (as if that’s really up to her). “Emma?” She snaps out of it.

“Sorry, what’s up?” All three of them are looking at her curiously, but Emma shrugs it off like she had just been distracted by someone a little ways away.

“You’re fine,” August doesn’t push it. “Got a favorite class so far? Or a favorite teacher?”

“Ooh, or a favorite student? Seen anyone cute yet?” Ruby wiggles her eyebrows, and Emma laughs, rolling her eyes.

“Ruby’s question is the easiest, so I’ll answer hers first. No.” Ruby opens her mouth, and Emma holds up her hand to stop her. “I know, I know. It’s only my first day, and I’ll find someone cute eventually. Got it, but--”

“Actually I wanted to ask you, and sorry if this is too personal, but guys or girls? If I’m going to be playing matchmaker for you, I gotta know.”

Emma looks at her incredulously, suddenly defensive. “Woah, who said anything about matchmaking? Does it really matter?” The air around the four of them goes quiet, Emma looking down at her food and the other three looking anywhere else, before Ruby claps her hands together to break the awkward tension. Emma sighs both grateful and frustrated, unsure of what just happened or why. She’d never even thought about it, but now that she is, she realizes she has no idea what the answer is.

“Alright so Emma is going to matchmake herself, which means I get to return to you two as my main focus.” A sneaky smile spreads across her face. “But anyway, Emma, I believe you have two more questions remaining: teacher and class.”

Emma shrugs, “I don’t know, I’m really looking forward to gym, but obviously I haven’t been there yet, so I guess I might say Latin so far.”

“You’re taking Latin?” Neal gapes at her.

“Latin II technically. Yeah, I have it first period.”

Ruby chuckles, “Wow, August, looks like she might be the brawn and the brains. Latin first thing in the morning, she’s definitely gonna give you a run for your money.”

Snorting loudly, Emma shakes her head, “Hell no. I’m not dumb or anything, but I’m definitely not up there. I just picked Latin as my language choice because I thought it was cool. Why be practical when you can basically learn spells from  _ Harry Potter _ .” She shrugs. “Anyway, I don’t think I have a favorite teacher.”

Truth be told, Emma had been watching them closely all morning, looking for any sign of weird understanding or recognition like the young librarian gave her earlier. She didn’t find anything, but it managed to keep her distracted, which meant she has no favorite teacher and no way to even fake an answer for her friends. 

August perks up, “Emma, I think you’ll probably really like our gym teacher. He wants us all to call him by his first name, so we do even though none of the faculty like it. His name’s Leroy. He’s really gruff, but gives the best pep talks.”

“That’s true!” Neal shifts excitedly, “This one time August dared me to try hurdles, so I did, and you can imagine how that went--”

“He fell down,” August interrupts, snickering. 

“Yeah, I fell down. So anyway, Leroy yanked me up by the front of my shirt, and I thought he was going to scream at me. He looked so mad and he was just right in my face, and instead of yelling, he just said ‘I believe in you, kid’ and walked away. Best. Moment. Of my life.”

“You know who else I bet you’ll like?” August asks, Emma shaking her head hoping he isn’t about to say the librarian. “Snow, the librarian.” Emma feels herself stiffen immediately. “She’s so sweet, and she has some really old books, and I think some of them might be in Latin. She knows Latin, I think, so you guys will probably get along really well.”

Emma nods slowly before getting up off the bench, wanting to dodge a conversation about the librarian as well as avoid any other questions. “Yeah, probably. Sorry guys, but I’ve gotta go. I’m still not sure what this ‘assistantship assignment’ means, and that’s where I have to be next so.” She takes a step back and waves. “It was great to meet you guys. Guess I’ll see you in gym.”

Taking her tray back to the cafeteria, Emma takes out her schedule. Next to “assistantship assignment” is a room number, and Emma shrugs, figuring she’ll just start there instead of troubling the people in the office. When she gets to her destination, and notices that it’s the library, she freezes. She’s not going back in there.

She ultimately decides to go to the office and ask them. When they tell her that she’s been assigned to be Snow’s assistant for the term, her eyes grow wide. “Why?”

The dean sighs, taking off her glasses and letting them hang from the glasses chain around her neck. “Miss Swan, the circumstances of your arrival here in Storybrooke were unique to work with. For one, you’re repeating a year, so it’s important for us to keep you from falling any further behind. Second, it was required by the state that we enroll you in a program that taught you about instruction, discipline, and decorum, so we created this program for you. Ms. Snow was very interested in taking you in as an assistant in the library, and we all agreed that was an excellent idea.”

Emma nods slowly. “So, I’m just the library assistant?”

“That is correct.”

“For one class period?”

“Well, that’s not necessarily how it’ll work. It will be up to Ms. Snow to decide when she needs you. It’s set up as a period so that you’ll be getting proper credit. You’re required to be in the library during that period unless Ms. Snow tells you otherwise, in case you’re not needed or if she requests your help after school.”

Emma stifles a groan of frustration. “But can I say no? To staying after school?” 

“Miss Swan. You need to understand that this is bigger than school. This is about your placement here in Storybrooke as well. Marco was very lenient and welcome to taking you in, but after the complaints made by your last foster parents and the multiple group homes you resided in until being placed here, it was very difficult to appease those ultimately in charge. You’ve gotten very lucky. You are more than welcome to refuse staying after school or taking part in the assistantship, but there will be consequences, and I don’t want to inflict them. Do you understand?”

Sighing, Emma nods. It’s all she can do, really, at least towards any authority figure. Inside all she can do is question why and how, make assumptions about what Snow’s motives are and how much influence she has over the situation, and think of any way to get out of it. “I understand,” she says, even though she really doesn’t.

Instead of going to the library, she goes to the nurse, letting out her best fake cough as she walks through the door, pleased when the woman looks at her concerned. Emma snickers when she’s set onto the little nurse bed and she shuffles out to grab something. Unfortunately, she comes back within a minute, giving Emma a few Ibuprofen, a cup of water, and instruction to return to class in ten minutes. She won’t be needing a note because class won’t start for another ten minutes anyway, and it was “good of Emma to think to come before lunch ended.”

With a huff and a grumbly “thanks,” Emma gets up and leaves, not even bothering to wait ten minutes. She stalks straight into the library, quietly of course, not because it’s a library but because maybe Snow won’t hear her come in, and sits at a table as much to the side as she can manage, which isn’t great considering that all the tables are in the middle of the room. She slouches, arms crossed, and stares right over at what she presumes to be Snow’s office as if daring her to come out.

Emma isn’t the least bit surprised when Snow walks out just as the bell rings, marking the beginning of the period. She looks shocked to see Emma, but still manages a smile. “You’re here!” 

Keeping her arms crossed, Emma shrugs. “I’m supposed to be here, aren’t I? They told me I couldn’t get out of it.”

Snow looks genuinely hurt at the thought, and Emma almost feels bad. “You tried to get out of it?”

“Of course I tried to get out of it. You’re trying to force me to accept something you know nothing about.” Snow opens her mouth to speak but Emma cuts her off. “I don’t want to hear it, okay? I don't care what you know, you have no idea what it's like. Just tell me what you want me to do for the library today, and I’ll do it. Sorry to be so disrespectful, I know you’re my teacher and all, but I can't talk about this.”

Snow nods, “If that's what you want, then that's fine. But…” she pauses, looking cautiously at Emma, “If you change your mind and want to talk, please know I'm here for you.” Emma finally meets her gaze, feeling that same staggering amount of comfort she felt before along with a nagging sense of familiarity. 

“Uh, thanks. Ms. Snow.”

“Please, just call me Snow. Unless there's faculty around, because they wouldn't like it.”

“Okay. But just so you know, I still don't want to talk about it, and I don't plan to. As far as I'm concerned, it's over.”

With a soft smile, Snow nods again, reluctantly letting the whole thing drop, “So, I got some new books in, and I thought today you could just help me organize and shelve them. Does that sound good?” She gestures to some boxes across the room, and Emma doesn’t hesitate before getting to work, avoiding both eye contact and conversation with Snow.

It’s about half an hour later when Emma’s made it through most of the larger boxes, so she decides to take a break. Snow isn’t around, and Emma finds herself wandering into her office, subtly snooping. It’s honestly uninteresting. Cabinets and bookshelves line the walls with an antique desk squished into the corner of the small space. The desk is messy, covered in books and papers, but there’s a picture in clear view of Snow and a little baby wrapped in a hospital blanket, not even a day old, and Emma suddenly feels like it’s something she’s not meant to see. She starts to back out of the office when something on the desk catches her eye, a file labelled “Emma Swan.” 

Without thinking, she snatches it up, flipping through it, noting that it talks about the totally mundane details of her life, such as former foster families and group homes, the places she went to school, a newspaper article on where she was abandoned as a baby, and to Emma’s horror, information regarding the incident in New Hampshire, the vampires she had killed, and her role as a vampire Slayer.  _ The  _ Vampire Slayer. This isn’t an ordinary file. She’s shaking as she looks at it, afraid and angry and confused, and she startles when she hears Snow speak softly behind her, “Emma?”

She spins around, spitting her words out, “What is this? Who else knows? Does Marco know? August? The principal? Why do you have this?” She’s shaking her head as her eyes meet Snow’s, starting to fill with tears, looking so desperate and sorry that Emma has to look away. She shoves the file into Snow’s hands and moves past her. “It doesn’t matter.  _ They  _ aren’t here. You don’t need me.” With that, she walks out of the library for the last time that day.

The rest of the day is a blur to Emma. After leaving the library, she goes to the girl’s locker room to get ready for gym a half hour early, before heading out to the track to just run, letting out all the frustration she feels from finding that file. She knows she wants answers, but she won’t admit they’re necessary. It’s not like vampires are going to follow her around like a magnet. Just because she’s here doesn’t mean  _ they _ are, and just because she’s some supposed “chosen one” doesn’t mean she should give up school and her dreams and risk her life to defeat a few evil myths. If anyone believes that she’s going to be the savior of the world, they are horribly mistaken. She’s no savior.

When gym begins, she isn’t tired from her run, but she is really sweaty, and she shrugs it off when August, Ruby, and Neal ask their questions. “Is your assistantship an extra gym period?” “Are they making you do landscaping?” “Are you filming some sort of sexy, sweaty ad for the sports program?” Emma just rolls her eyes and focuses on whatever Leroy has planned for that day, which turns out to be dodgeball. 

The whole time, her brain is caught up on how Snow knows and who she is, if who Emma is is the reason for Marco taking her in, if he knows anything, if vampires really could follow her here or if they were already here to begin with, if it was random she was sent to Storybrooke, Maine as opposed to any other town, the list goes on and on, and before Emma knows it, gym is over, and she leaves for home before August can catch her, running down streets she thinks his route home doesn’t consist of.

It isn’t much better at home. She showers, tries and fails to nap, tries and fails to distract herself with homework, and remains silent during dinner, effectively worrying Marco and August. However, nothing about her mind is slowing down, and it’s starting to piss her off.

As if subconsciously trying to prove her inevitable safety to herself and to Snow and to the world supposedly “relying” on her, she grabs her red leather jacket and slips out the door for a night stroll, without any defense. She doesn’t need it after all.  _ They _ aren’t here. She’s convinced that fresh air  _ this time  _ will be the key. She’s convinced about a lot of things.

* * *

 

Storybrooke is different at night. It still has that small-town vibe, where you expect everyone to wave at each other, but the energy shifts. It feels like the town is asleep, even when someone drives down the street or turns a light on, the night air crackles with a kind of stillness. It feels protective like being in the car while it’s raining.

Emma is just walking, moving down the streets, lost in the feel of the air. She’s lost track of time as well as her thoughts, and she breathes a sigh of relief, careful not to cross the line of her realization. She remains in the headspace the town’s nighttime energy seemingly provides for her and lets her feet lead the way, feeling like one with the earth and not stopping to wonder why. She’s not aware of her surroundings until something suddenly knocks into her chest, hard, and she’s off the ground and in the air before her back crashes into something solid and stone.

She struggles slightly to sit up. To say she is disoriented is an understatement, and as her eyes quickly adjust to the dark, the first thing she  _ should  _ notice is that she’s in a graveyard and has just been thrown into what she assumes is a headstone by a figure in front of her, but the first thing she  _ does  _ notice is that the mystery figure in front of her is a woman, clad in the sexiest leather outfit she’s ever seen.

Emma shakes her head, wondering if she’s lost it, but when she blinks a few times and looks up, the woman is still there, her dark eyes piercing into Emma’s. She’s giving Emma the most condescending smirk imaginable, and Emma is almost too dumbfounded to analyze the situation at hand, which seems to be that this impossible young woman is looming over Emma predatorily, and it isn’t until the brunette in front of her literally snarls that Emma notices the trademark signs of a vampire.

At that, Emma’s eyes are wide open as she frantically scrambles to her feet, but remembers last minute that she’s totally unarmed. “Fuck,” she openly curses herself for being so stupid.  _ Of course _ there are vampires here. They’re probably everywhere, and their location is totally arbitrary to Emma’s, or would be at least for the average vampire, but Emma had already guessed that the woman in front of her is no ordinary vampire.

The woman in front of her lets out a throaty chuckle, “Something wrong?” Emma shrugs, ready to talk it out, avoid any more of a fight, kiss and make up (Emma blushes at the very idea), whatever, as long as it means Emma goes home in one piece. She’s casually glancing around at the ground for any sort of makeshift weapon, seeing nothing but snappy little twigs, and even though the woman’s heart is definitely not covered in clothing (that earns another blush from Emma), she’d still have to get past bone, and nothing around her seems likely to achieve that level of penetration, even with her Slayer strength.

The vampire clears her throat, and Emma’s eyes shift back to hers. “Uhh,” is all Emma can manage for a moment before she comes up with, “Who are you?”

With a scoff, the woman begins casually pacing in front of Emma. “The one with the upper hand, it would appear. I know that  _ you’re _ Emma Swan, the Slayer, and  _ I’m _ armed,” she grins, exposing her sharp, vampiric canines, “and  _ you  _ don’t have so much as information, much less something besides strength to fight me with. Which wouldn’t be so bad, if I didn’t have vampire strength. Slayer strength only gets you so far, and it certainly doesn’t make vampires easy kills, as much as you might like them to be. I know I  _ don’t _ ,” she sneers.

Emma starts at that, concern for her life being left on the back burner behind her dignity. “Um,  _ excuse me _ , but I never said that.”

The brunette clears the space between them in only two swift steps, her eyes glaring into Emma’s, suddenly inflamed with anger, and Emma finds herself staggering backwards a step. “No, you didn’t say  _ that _ , but you have been saying that there’s no reason for you to resume your role as the Slayer here in Storybrooke, that there’s no one here to fight against, have you not?” The vampire hisses out her words through bared teeth, raising one eyebrow as if challenging Emma to disagree.

Emma blinks, totally confused. “Uh, kind of? I haven’t exactly said it like that, but maybe I’ve thought it? You can’t read minds can you?”

With another scoff, the brunette pushes Emma’s shoulder, not enough to hurt her, but hard enough to make her back knock into the headstone again. “Don’t be so  _ stupid _ ,” she spits out. “You are denying something completely irrefutable about yourself. You are squandering this strength that  _ only you  _ have, and you need to start giving a damn or you’re going to get yourself killed. You will  _ never  _ have a normal life, Miss Swan, so you best get your shit together because some parts of you are not going anywhere.” Emma stands frozen, totally stunned. The vampire steps backwards, continuing with a roll of her eyes, “And no, you idiot. I can’t read minds. It isn’t hard to figure out what you’ve been thinking given the fact that you’re walking through a graveyard  _ alone _ ,  _ at night _ , and  _ unarmed  _ as someone who not only knows about the existence of vampires but whose very nature attracts them.”

The whole situation has Emma speechless. As she struggles to come up with some kind of response to the vampire’s unexpectedly passionate speech about Emma’s identity, her brows furrow together, and she watches as the woman in front of her suddenly stiffens and looks away, only heightening Emma’s curiosity, which overpowers the fear she believes she  _ should  _ feel at the anger she sees and the clear disadvantages she has. When she finally responds, her words come out softer than she expects to hear them. “Why do you care?”

The vampire’s eyes snap back to Emma’s and she snips at her a little too fast. “I don’t.” Emma’s still watching her, trying to understand, and unable to look away, unlike the woman in front of her whose eyes continue to shift back and forth from Emma to something else and then back to Emma. “You don’t know who I am, but I’m renowned in the vampire world.” She locks eyes with Emma as she admits, “I’ve killed four Slayers.” 

Emma doesn’t flinch or panic, but she knows she should. The vampire looks surprised at the lack of reaction Emma gives her. “Okay? But that doesn’t answer my question,” Emma points out.

“I just don’t like easy kills, and I’m trying to improve my track record, despite it being the best already, and I would just appreciate it if you could start acting like a real Slayer and put up a decent fight.”

“Okayyy, so you care about my safety because you want to kill me?” Emma snorts. “If you really want to kill me, we could just be fighting instead of talking. Who said I would be an easy kill without a weapon?”

“ _ I _ did, Miss Swan, or did you already forget?” She shifts with impatience.

“You know you can just call me Emma, right? Everybody else does.” Emma’s smirk visibly increases the vampire’s irritation, and she can’t help but chuckle. “But the real question is, what do I call you? Leather Vamp? Arch Nemesis? Oxymoron?”

“First, you twisted my motive to sound like an oxymoron. Two, I’d rather be an oxymoron than a moron, like you.” She groans in exasperation and pulls a wooden stake out of nowhere, tossing it to Emma. “Third, if I’m going to kill you, I want to feel like I’ve earned it, which I won’t if you’re unarmed the whole time.”

Emma smirks, “ _ If _ ? But I thought--”

Ignoring Emma, she interrupts. “This stake was carved from my favorite apple tree in our yard when I was a child.”

Emma stares blankly at her, “And you’re giving it to me, why?”

“You’re going to fight me with it,” she retorts matter-of-factly, and Emma can’t help the burst of laughter she lets out, and the vampire’s face twists in annoyance. “What’s so funny?”

“This is just ridiculous. You make no sense, and I feel like you should scare me, but you really don’t. Maybe we’ll fight one day, but it isn’t going to be tonight. If anything, your motive for tonight was to get me to accept who I am and prepare me for a fight later, and I’ll just tell you now that you’ve only half succeeded. Having me fight you tonight isn’t going to make me feel any differently about who I am, and killing me tonight while I still don’t give a crap about who I am isn’t going to make you feel successful.” Emma starts to walk away, stake in hand. “See you later, Oxymoron.”

Behind her the vampire groans again, “You’re just like  _ her _ .”

Emma spins back around, “Who?” The vampire is looking at Emma with a mostly unreadable expression, aside from a spark of irritation. When she hesitates, Emma asks again, “ _ Who _ ?”

The brunette rolls her eyes, keeping them locked in one corner away from Emma. “Snow.” She mutters begrudgingly. 

The confusion Emma has felt this whole time doubles at the mention of her librarian’s name. The gears in her brain are certainly turning now, remembering everything Snow had said to her earlier that day, and everything this woman is saying to her now. She needs answers, and she knows where to find them, but there’s something she needs first. “Tell me who you are.”

“My name is Regina.”


	2. even if you see them coming, you’re not ready for the big moments

The next morning, Emma forces herself out of bed, barely awake, to trudge down the stairs for some coffee. If she were alive enough to register August’s “woah” at the sight of her entering the kitchen, she would have a snappy comeback, but all she can muster is a grunt of disapproval.

“You weren’t kidding,” he laughs at her, and she manages to shoot him a glare over her shoulder as she pours herself a mug of life in liquid form. The two sit in silence for a while, Emma’s mind still on the previous night.

After Regina had introduced herself, Emma had left, running home in a failed attempt to exhaust herself. She’d gotten home, showered again. more full of energy than she had been for the whole day, but she refused to let herself think too hard about it, knowing that she wouldn’t have answers for at least twelve hours, probably more. Her options for answers are limited, as are her options for talking to Snow. It has to be when no one will be there to overhear them, but it also needs to not be bright and early in the morning before Emma is properly awake. Her plan is to make it through the school day and confront Snow once most of the student body have scattered.

The only flaw that presents itself in Emma’s plan is impatience. She only half concentrates on classes, and at lunch, she keeps zoning out in the middle of conversations, and luckily, no one pushes her to tell them what her deal is. She assures them that she’ll be fine tomorrow, and they accept that as enough.

The most awkward point of Emma’s day is when she goes to the library for sixth period and spends the whole time ignoring Snow, who lets Emma read quietly and work on homework. Emma continues the impromptu journalling she started in study hall to vent about her confusion and recount the events of last night so she doesn’t forget anything.

When gym finally ends and school is over, Emma waits around, ushering August off, telling him she’s got to get some library books and plans to just walk home. He nods and goes off to his car, leaving Emma to watch the parking lot clear before turning and walking towards the library.

“Snow!” Emma swings the door open and waits for the librarian to appear. It doesn’t take long before she emerges from her office, looking quizzically at her student, clearly not expecting to see her.

“Emma?” She moves out towards her, her brow creased in worry. “Is something wrong?” Emma sits down at one of the tables and gestures for Snow to do the same.

“No.” Emma shakes her head, second guessing herself. “Yes,” she corrects, thinking of Regina’s angry eyes. But something about saying that something is wrong doesn’t seem right either. So she changes her answer again. “Maybe? I don’t know honestly.” She sighs, loudly, before settling on something she knows to be true. “I have questions.”

Snow smiles to herself, but the concern is still evident on her face. “Something happened,” she comments, more of a statement than a question. After Emma nods, Snow folds her hands in front of herself on the table, preparing for what Emma had to ask her. “Okay, what are your questions?”

Taking a deep breath, Emma begins with, “Who is Regina?”

It’s clear that Snow is not expecting that as Emma watches her face flash from surprise to confusion to anger and settling on pure shock. “H-How-- what--“

Emma continues when Snow stops trying to form a question and settles for shaking her head. She can basically see the thoughts racing across the librarian’s eyes. “I met her last night. When I was out walking.” She doesn’t give Snow anything else, allowing her to process this news and start where she needs to. Emma’s been impatient all day, but now that she’s here getting her answers, she’s almost afraid to have them. Besides, she’s not even sure what most of her questions are.

“Emma. I promise you I will tell you about Regina, but I think we need to talk about some things first. You probably know what those things are, right?” Emma nods. “And you’re willing to talk about them now? Because you know I don’t want to push you.”

With a sigh, Emma nods again, closing her eyes. “I know.” She opens her eyes again to lock eyes with Snow. “I’m sorry for yesterday, but no one has ever talked to me about this, and honestly, the whole thing scares me. I don’t _want_ to talk about it, but after last night, I know that I have to. I don’t know what I want to ask, so just tell me what you think I need to know, as long as you really will answer my questions.”

Snow nods, “Once we get through the basics, I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” She opens her mouth to continue, but then Emma puts her hand up.

“Wait.” She pauses, taking a deep breath. “I have one question first, and maybe this is a good place to start. I was just wondering… why me?”

“That’s actually a _great_ place to start, but I actually can’t tell you. I’m not going to pretend to know why _anyone_ gets chosen. What I can tell you is that a new Slayer is only called when the former one has died, the only known Slayers have been women, Slayers are usually called when they’re young like you are, and as you probably have noticed, Slayers tend to have superpowers. You know, Slayer strength, exceptional vision, hearing, and reflexes.” Emma flinches ever so slightly at the word “superpower,” but otherwise nods.

“Okay, so what’s the point? Why is there only one Slayer? How is it fair to give one person the pressure of saving the whole world from vampires? And speaking of vampires, how do more people not know about them? Why aren’t there vampire conspiracy theories all over the place? Are the vampires that exist like the ones in _Dracula_ ? Or, god forbid, _Twilight_?” The expression on Snow’s conflicted face stops Emma from continuing to spew out questions. “Sorry,” she mutters, more to herself than to Snow.

Brows knitted together, Snow dismisses Emma’s apology and explains, “I have a lot of books about Slayer history and vampires that probably would answer most of your questions more thoroughly than I can on my own. Since most of your questions are more general, rather than specific to you or me, perhaps I should let you look at them.”

Emma nods. “Is that how you know about me? Why I’m here in Storybrooke? Because you know a lot about this stuff?”

Eyes on her hands, Snow purses her lips together and cocks her head before finally looking up at Emma and replying. “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” It’s obvious that the librarian isn’t telling Emma something, but she isn’t sure what. She figures it’s best not to push it, maybe it will come up naturally. “Do you want to tell me about what happened with Regina?”

“Yeah, okay, so I was out walking last night. Some kind of delusional idea to prove my denial, I don’t know. Whatever it was, it was stupid because I was unarmed, and Regina attacked me.” Snow’s eyes widen in horror, but Emma puts her hands up, “Hey, hey, it’s fine. She didn’t hurt me. It was really weird actually. She gave me a speech about how I need to snap out of it and accept who I am so I don’t get myself killed, but _then_ she said she wanted to fight me and kill me. So she gave me a stake from her childhood apple tree. Mixed messages much? But anyway, she told me about how she’s a big celebrity to vampires, like she killed some Slayers, and I guess she wants to add me to the list.”

Snow’s already pale face is paler than a sheet by the time Emma stops talking. She’s shocked but hesitantly asks Emma, “Why did you ask me if I knew her?”

“She mentioned you. Said I was like you. Why would she say that?”

The caution in Snow’s eyes is blaring. She opens and closes her mouth before she finally just answers Emma. “Maybe because we’re both Slayers.”  
Emma’s mouth drops open in surprise. She sputters for a moment, blinking rapidly, before managing to spit out the right words. “Wait, what? I thought there was only one? But you said--”

“I know. A new Slayer is only called when the former one has died.” she says, quoting herself. This is more than Emma expected to have to wrap her mind around.

“So.. you’ve died? But you got saved? How?”

For a minute, Snow doesn't say a word. She just sits looking down at her hands, still folded in front of her on the table. She eyes Emma, as if looking for a reason to not tell her anything, but it’s clear she finds no reason when she sighs in defeat. “I’ve died, but I wasn’t saved.”

Emma’s eyes squint together, “I don’t underst--.”

“I’m a vampire.”

* * *

 

_Snow wouldn’t have known when her life changed forever, not until it had all fallen apart and she was able to take a step back and look at it for what it was. She knew now that it was the moment she had met Regina Mills, and she can’t help but see the irony of it all. Regina saved her life from a subspecies that would ultimately ruin theirs._

_Snow’s father Leopold was a renowned CEO of a large company located in Boston, and it was common for Snow to come visit him at work after school, often staying with him until he left late at night. Since the loss of her mother, Snow couldn’t stand being alone at home, so she spent as much time at her father’s office as she could._

_It was especially hard on the weekends because Snow didn’t have school, she wasn’t old enough for a job, and her father didn’t like the idea of Snow walking to his office from home. “It’s too far,” he said. “You know I only let you walk from school because it’s nearby. It’s a dangerous world we live in, and I can’t lose you too.” Snow had only seen her father cry once: when her mother passed. She was surprised to see him crying again at the idea of losing her. “Mary Margaret, please. I know you don’t want to be home by yourself.”_

_That day he showed up at home on his lunch break with a puppy. Snow squealed in delight. “Oh my gosh, is this real? You got me a puppy? Is this really happening?”_

_He chuckled at her excitement, eyes crinkling in joy. “Yes, my dear. I got you a puppy. I didn’t want you to spend your days in here alone.” She beamed up at him; she had the greatest father anyone could have ever asked for. She named the puppy Princess, of course._

_Snow spent the next few months training Princess to sit, lie down, shake, and even to ring a bell when she needed to go outside. When it got dark, Snow would walk her around their backyard, but she’d gotten bored of doing circles around the same old, boring landscape, so one night she decided to take Princess on a walk around the city. This one decision changed more lives than she ever thought possible._

_Princess had been restless, only seeming to get more energetic the further they walked, so Snow decided to make this walk an extra long one. It was a nice night out anyways. She made sure to walk in an area she was familiar with so she wouldn’t get lost, and she knew where she needed to walk quicker to briskly skirt past sketchy alleyways, and when to be on the other side of the street where she wouldn’t have to pass any of the sketchier places. She was playing it really safe, and knew her father would be proud of her for being so aware. She was proud of her awareness too, which is why she was even more surprised when it happened._

_It happened really fast. Princess stopped to sniff around at the mouth of a dimly lit alleyway that Snow didn’t think twice about because it wasn’t as dark as the rest of them. She turned to look towards the street, noting all the people around her, feeling comforted by their presence. If something were going to happen to her, the people were witnesses, like a safety net. As the thought crossed her mind, rough hands jerked her backwards, sending her toppling to the ground, hard. She heard Princess bark, but she wasn’t sure where it came from because it sounded further away that she would have guessed._

_A man had her pinned to the ground, his face disfigured and his sneer grotesque. Snow tried to scream, but nothing was coming out, and when the man saw what she was trying to do, he put his hand over his mouth, letting out a sinister laugh whenever her eyes widened in panic. He started to sink closer to her, and Snow would’ve thought he was going to kiss her if he wasn’t covering her mouth. But suddenly the light hit his face right, and she could make out the sharp fangs in his mouth, the focal point of his vile grin._

_His teeth had just grazed her neck when she felt his weight removed from above her. She sat up quickly in time to see a young woman pulling him to the ground, crouching on top of him, one knee on the ground and one foot pressed into his shoulder and what looked like a small crossbow pointed at his chest. She shot and the man turned into dust before her eyes, and Snow didn’t know whether to be more grateful or more scared._

_When the woman stood to walk over to her, she held out her hand to help Snow up and gave her a soft smile. “Hey, sweetie, are you okay?” Snow decided to be grateful. This woman probably didn’t have an evil bone in her body._

_“Y-yeah. I’m okay. I think.”_

_The woman smiled down at her again as she led her out of the alley, still holding onto Snow’s hand. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was leaving my friend’s apartment when I heard a dog growling towards the alley. She led me over here to you.” As if on cue, Princess came up next to Snow, nuzzling her face into Snow’s free hand._

_“Princess!” Snow let go of the woman’s hand and threw herself down to hug Princess, tears starting to form in her eyes. “Thank you so much! You’re the best dog in the world. My favorite girl.” She planted a kiss on Princess’s head, and then suddenly remembered her manners. She stood to face the woman next to her. “Ma’am, I can’t thank you enough for saving me.”_

_“Please, call me Regina.”_

_“Thank you, Regina. My name is Mary Margaret, but you can call me Snow.” She started to smile at Regina, but stopped short when she remembered what just happened, or rather, what she thought just happened. This woman had turned a man to dust. He had deserved it, but Snow couldn’t help but be wary._

_Regina seemed to notice. “Snow? Are you okay?” Snow’s eyes shifted to the small crossbow in Regina’s hand. She put it away. “It’s for protection. I know what just happened must be scary for you in a lot of ways, so if you’d like, I can walk you home and I’ll explain it all to you.” Snow hesitated, but she eventually agreed because she didn’t want to risk being attacked again. So she nodded, and took Regina’s hand, leading her in the direction of home._

_That was the day Snow learned that vampires were real._

_Regina explained that her mother knew about vampires, how she had been trained to protect herself from them, how there was one chosen one (the Slayer) that was meant to protect all the world from vampires, and how Regina thought that becoming a vampire would be the worst fate imaginable. To hear all of this had Snow stunned, but she couldn’t help but feel safer and stronger with this new knowledge, feeling like somewhere deep down inside of her, it mattered more than she was capable of understanding._

_By the time they had made it back to Snow’s house, she knew she had made the right decision in trusting Regina. “Thank you so much again for saving my life, and for telling me about all this stuff. I think you’re the sweetest woman I’ve ever known, after my mother.” Snow looked down sadly, “But I guess that makes you the sweetest woman alive.”_

_Regina crouched down to meet Snow’s eyes from below. She put a soft hand to her cheek. “And that makes you the luckiest girl alive, to have had the sweetest woman as your mother.” Snow smiled into Regina’s teary eyes._

_“Thank you again.” It came out in a whisper. She pulled Regina into a hug, and Princess yipped happily beside them._

_“Hey, I have an idea,” Regina said, pulling back from the hug. “Maybe I could give you defense lessons. In case you’re ever in that situation again?” Snow beamed and nodded excitedly, so Regina wrote her number down for Snow. “Talk to your father, and see what he thinks. You don’t have to tell him about the vampires, it can just be normal self defense.”_

_When Snow’s father got home, she told him about how she had broken the rules, walking Princess in the city after dark, apologizing profusely. It was hard to tell him what happened for fear of scaring him or upsetting him, but she did. She told him about how Regina had saved her life, about how Regina was the sweetest woman right after Mom, about how Regina wanted to teach her self defense. She didn’t mention vampires. She gave him the paper with Regina’s number. He called first thing the next morning, and Snow’s lessons with Regina started almost immediately._

_She began spending every Saturday with Regina, learning more about self defense and about vampires, more about Regina and her family. She never noticed the grating tension between Regina and her mother, Cora, or how much time Regina also spent with Leopold, who frequently took Regina out to expensive restaurants, leaving Snow either at home with Princess or in Cora’s care._

_One night Cora let it slip that Regina and Leopold were engaged to be married, and Snow couldn’t stop the squeal that escaped her lips or the smile that broke out on her face. No one could ever replace her mother, but the thought of Regina becoming a part of her family felt so right to Snow, and that night when Regina returned home, Snow had hugged her for a full five minutes before pulling back and telling her how lucky she felt. She hadn’t noticed that Regina’s smile didn’t reach her eyes as she told Snow how happy she was._

_It wasn’t until one day when Snow showed up for her lesson and walked in on Regina crying silently on the couch that she thought anything could be wrong. She rushed over to her. “Regina? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” She watched intently as Regina tried to mask her tears but failed, only crying harder at the loving look in Snow’s eyes. “You can tell me anything.”_

_Regina hesitated, and Snow didn’t expect her to say anything at all after a long moment of silence, but she did. “Do you remember that night I saved you? And I was only over there because I was with one of my friends?” Snow nodded. “His name is Daniel. I’ve been in love with him for years, but my mother would never have approved, so I kept him a secret.” She looked down, no longer meeting Snow’s eyes. “I still love him, despite being engaged to your father. But it’s too late.” Her voice broke as more tears softly ran down her face. Snow felt her own eyes begin to fill as well._

_“If you love him then you should be with him. I would love to have you as my stepmother, but I’ll be here no matter what. True love might not be.” She hugged Regina, holding her while she cried. “Follow your heart.”_

_“Thank you, Snow.”_

_It had never occurred to Snow that Cora loved herself more than her daughter. Honestly, Snow didn’t even realize it was possible for mothers to be selfish. So when she told Cora about Daniel, explaining that Regina’s happiness was with him, she didn’t expect anything to go wrong. She was so sure that Cora would understand, wanting her daughter to have a true happy ending. Snow was confused when Regina and Leopold announced their wedding date, and she didn’t understand why Regina suddenly seemed so cold. Her eyes hadn’t smiled since before that day Regina opened up to Snow, and when Regina did smile, very rarely, it was only a slight upward tilt of her lips, never anything big or warm or soft._

_It was on the wedding day, when Snow was helping Regina get ready, that she decided to ask about Daniel. “Why are you still marrying my father?”_

_Regina’s voice came out almost like ice. “What do you mean? We’ve been engaged for months now. You know this.” Her face remained passive, hard, and suddenly Snow was afraid to ask, but she said it before she could stop herself. She needed to know._

_“Don’t you still love Daniel?” At the mention of his name, Regina’s eyes burned so intensely that Snow had to take her eyes off of her entirely, and she was almost relieved when Regina walked away turning her back from Snow. Minutes passed, and Snow began to fidget, suddenly aware of the tension filling up the room._

_When Regina turned back to her, her face was blank. She sat down next to Snow, looking at her with the most kindness Snow had seen in them in a while. “Daniel is gone. He betrayed me, and I cannot love someone who has betrayed me.”_

_Snow gaped at Regina. “But he was your true love! He was supposed to be your happy ending!”_

_Regina scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous, Mary Margaret, you know it doesn’t always work like that. Happy endings are for fairy tales. They aren’t real. What I had with Daniel was never supposed to happen.”_

_“Yes it was!” Snow insisted. “It_ was _supposed to happen. You said your mother would never approve, but when I talked to her about it, told her about how happy he made you, she smiled at me and told me that she would do whatever it took for you to be happy, just like I knew she would. Just like my mother would have done for me, and just like you--” Snow stopped short when she met Regina’s gaze. She had never seen Regina look so angry before. “What’s wrong?” She asked hesitantly._

 _Another long moment passed before Regina spoke again, anger wearing heavy in her eyes. “I’ve taught you a lot of things over the past few months, but here’s one more thing, and it’s the most important thing of all. You can never trust_ anyone _.”_

_Neither of them spoke in the time before the wedding began, and by the time it was over they still hadn’t spoken. Suddenly it was like Regina wanted nothing to do with Snow, and she was too afraid to ask her stepmother why. Her father was oblivious, and whenever he was around, Regina transformed to how she used to be, only fake, like she was putting on an act to prove herself as a worthy mother for Snow, but the minute Leopold disappeared, Regina’s fake smiles did too._

_When Snow turned sixteen, they finally spoke again, when Snow’s life took another drastic turn. She became the Slayer. It had happened one night a few weeks after her birthday. At first it was just a dream, like many others, where Snow was hunting vampires, only this time it felt more present, more vivid. In the dream, Regina was there talking about the Slayer to her like she did on the day they met, but her stepmother suddenly became a vampire, pinning her to the ground just like the vampire had that night, telling her that she knew who the Slayer was, and she was going to kill her before she could slay_ Regina _._

_Snow woke up that morning, sweating and out of breath. Going back to sleep was useless, so she went out for a walk to clear her head. As far as she knew, it was only another dream, nothing prophetic. She was convinced that nothing had changed, but as she felt the earth beneath her feet, she felt that it had. When a vampire attacked her, she was simultaneously surprised and not. Unarmed, she was prepared to put up her best fight, doubting it would do much good, but when she kicked him with full force, he was flying backwards. In his current state on the ground, she reached for a small part of a tree branch, lunging towards him and slaying him with it, sliding it through his chest effortlessly._

_Another vampire attacked, and she did the same as before, suddenly aware of how much less effort it took her than it had in the past. She felt stronger, more alive. Her blood was pounding through her veins and her eyesight was better in the dark and her reflexes were insane. Another vampire showed up, but he didn’t stand a chance._

_She thought about her dream and all the things Regina had told her about the Slayer, which wasn’t much. Only that when the former one dies, a new one is called as a teenager. There was no way Snow knew to confirm what had happened to her, and there was only one person she could think to ask._

_As soon as she got back from her walk, she was surprised to see Regina sitting on the living room couch, a book in her hand, despite it being well past midnight. She didn’t speak or move when Snow came in, like usual, but instead of moving quickly through the room to go upstairs, Snow hovered and moved to sit on an armchair perpendicular to Regina. Snow waited to see if Regina would notice the difference before she noticed that her stepmother wasn’t really reading._

_Regina was waiting for her._ Did she know? How could she know? _Snow cleared her throat hesitantly. “Regina?”_

_For a moment it looked like she was going to ignore her. Snow sat waiting for any kind of reaction for at least five minutes. It was when she went to stand and leave that Regina stopped to look up at her. “Yes, dear?” Her voice was stiff with a hint of bitterness, but the term of endearment threw Snow for a moment. Slowly she sat back down, willing herself to look Regina in the eye._

_“Do you remember the day we met? And you told me about the Slayer?” Regina smirked at her knowingly, eyes cold. Since the question was rhetorical, she made no move to answer it. “I had a weird dream last night.” She paused, gauging Regina’s reaction, but her expression remained the same, forcing Snow to continue. “Okay, so in the dream, I was hunting vampires, and it was way more realistic than usual. It felt like it was actually happening. Then it went to that day we met, and it was all the same only I was the age I am now, and you were…” Snow hesitated, anxious and unsure of how Regina would react to this. “You were a vampire. And you attacked me, saying that you knew who the Slayer was and that you were going to kill her before she could kill you.”_

_Something Snow couldn’t catch flashed across Regina’s face before it became unreadable once again. “How did you wake up?”_

_Snow shook her head, thrown. “What?”_

_Regina cleared her throat before clarifying, “How did you wake up? What happened to make you wake up? I’m assuming it didn’t just casually end.” Snow sank back into the armchair, humming in thought. That hadn’t occurred to her, and she had been so nervous about talking to Regina that she had dismissed it. How she could have forgotten amazed her once she remembered._

_“You killed me.”_

_For a long moment, neither of them moved, or said anything, or did anything, they just stared at each other, waiting for the other to react. Regina’s lack of emotion was unnerving Snow, and she wanted to look away but found herself unable to, drawn into Regina’s stare needing some kind of response, any kind of explanation._

_Finally Regina broke the silence. “You think you’re the Slayer.”_

_Taking in a sharp breath, Snow responded, “I think I_ know _. Everything feels different.”_

_Regina nodded slowly, contemplating. “So why are you here?”_

_Snow blinked. Why_ was _she here? She and Regina hadn’t spoken in so long that she can hardly remember the last exchange they had, however brief. They hadn’t so much as made eye contact for months and here Snow was asking for her advice on a life altering possibility. “You had all the answers then. It seems only natural for you to have them now.” Snow shrugged. “I know that dream wasn’t real, but you being such a big part of it feels significant. Plus, you’re my stepmother. Aren’t I supposed to come to you for advice?”_

_Regina shrugged back. “I guess,” she commented anticlimactically. When she didn’t continue, Snow raised her eyebrows at her. “I can’t tell you what your dream meant, but I can tell you that someone will be approaching you soon. Whoever they are will be who trains you. You may very well be the Slayer, but as for that dream, I think you’re better off forgetting about it.”_

_Snow didn’t question her before leaving. Regina was right though. A few nights later, someone who couldn’t have been much older than her, a young man named Herc, introduced himself as her “Watcher.” Snow didn’t know what it meant, but it sounded cute so she went with it, not asking questions._

_He was impressed by the amount of knowledge she already had, and despite her disconnect with Regina, she proudly told him that her stepmother was to thank for all of it. He told her she was lucky and for a moment, she almost agreed._

_The two of them trained early every morning for a month and a half, just acquainting Snow to her new strength and ability before he agreed to night training. A direct hands-on, thrown-to-the-wolves approach. For the most part, Snow found facing vampires easy, and Herc told her that she may have been one of the most powerful Slayers._

_Snow hadn’t messed up once in months, and she didn’t know how it happened, but they were blindsided one night in the graveyard, knocked out before she was even given the chance to fight. She had tried, but Herc told her she was bleeding and needed to get her home immediately so she lead him there._

_As soon as he walked through the door, he nearly dropped Snow in surprise when he locked eyes with Regina. “You,” he spat out at her, setting Snow down._

_Snow may have been disoriented, but she recovered quickly at the suddenly tense atmosphere of the room, the hatred in Herc’s voice, the evil grin spreading across her stepmother’s face, and much to Snow’s surprise, the snarl leaving her mouth. “Herc? Regina? What’s going on?” Regina snorted in response, and Herc turned his body towards Snow, eyes still locked on Regina. Their positioning in the living room was the same as it had been that night, when Snow all but told Regina she was the Slayer, only this time Herc was in the middle blatantly bringing up the elephant in the room Snow hadn’t even known was there._

_“Snow, how could you not have told me your stepmother, of all people is a vampire?!” She recovered herself enough to stand and face Herc, ready to defend Regina, the woman who had saved her life all those years ago, the woman she considered to be family. She knew it hadn’t been perfect, but she still loved Regina, was still grateful for her, was still there for her._

_“How dare you! You don’t know what you’re talking about. We haven’t been on the best terms lately, but that doesn’t mean--”_

_“She’s the one who attacked us tonight!” Snow shook her head, unwilling to believe it. Her eyes met with Regina’s and for a moment it felt like it used to be. Regina almost looked sorry before she turned away. “Open your eyes, Snow! When did the two of you stop talking? What changed? Because I’d be willing to bet that she became a vampire, and that’s when you had your falling out.”_

_Snow sank down in defeat, everything clicking into place. She couldn’t take her eyes off Regina, even when her vision became blurry from tears. “Regina? Is that true?” Regina’s eyes finally met Snow’s again, and Snow could have sworn they were filling with tears as well._

_“Yes, it’s true.”_

_Snow couldn’t stop her mouth from opening at the confirmation she didn’t want. It answered so many things but begged for so many more questions that Snow didn’t know where to start. Part of her wished Herc wasn’t there. She wanted Regina to open up to her, to trust her, but she never would with Herc standing there glaring, body in defense mode. When she spoke, it came out almost inaudible, “Herc, can you please leave us alone for a minute?”_

_“What? No way, Snow. Are you crazy?” Snow shot him a glare to match the one he held on Regina until he looked back at her, eyes off Regina for the first time since they had arrived. He sighed, taking a step back. “Fine, but I’m standing right outside the door, which I’m keeping_ open _.”_

_Snow didn’t move until he had left the room entirely, and once he had, she moved to the couch to sit next to Regina. She flinched back when Snow reached out for her. She still wasn’t sure where to start, but she couldn’t stand the silence between them while she thought, so she softly asked, “Regina, what happened?”_

_Regina wasn’t looking at Snow, but she could see her eyes flicker back and forth from hurt to anger, hurt to anger, and settling on something in between that Snow didn’t understand. Her voice came out thick, but calmer and quieter than she expected. “It doesn’t matter.”_

_“Of course it matters, Regina! You’re my stepmother; you’re my friend. I owe you my life! I told you once that you could tell me anything. I meant that.”_

_Unmistakeable rage fired in Regina’s eyes as she glowered at Snow. “I don’t think you meant that at all. I should have never told you anything then, so don’t you expect me to share anything with you now.”_

_Taken aback, Snow blinked. “Regina, I don’t understand--”_

_“Of course you don’t.” Hate seeped through her voice, hitting Snow like an arrow to the chest. She knew Regina wasn’t going to talk to her, so she pushed past the hurt she felt at Regina’s rejection, pushed back her curiosity for answers, and picked up the courage for one more question she needed to be addressed. “Was it really you who attacked me tonight?”_

_Regina blinked, her face going blank. “I was there, yes. That’s the last question I’m answering.” And with that she stood up to walk out, stopping in the doorway to glance at Snow over her shoulder. “Your father doesn’t know about this, and I intend to keep it that way.” When she stepped out of the room, Snow heard the clicking of her heels on the stairs and was left more confused than ever. She didn’t even notice when Herc reentered the room and pulled her into a hug. She didn’t return it, couldn’t._

_Herc pulled back, leaving his hands on her shoulders. “Snow, you need to pack your things. It isn’t safe here, you need to stay somewhere else.” That snapped Snow out of her shocked trance._

_“No. I’m not leaving my father here alone with her. Besides, I don’t think she’s dangerous.”_

_“Snow, of course she’s dangerous. She’s a vampire,_ and _she attacked us tonight.” His eyes were pleading._

_“No, Herc. She wouldn’t. She didn’t. She was only there.” He gaped at her, opening his mouth to speak before Snow cut him off. “I’m not arguing about this. I trust her, and I’m staying here. If anything happens, I can protect myself, but I need to look out for my father too.” Herc reluctantly agreed to let her stay. He’d tried to convince her to let him stay in the guest bedroom to keep an eye on her, but she immediately shot him down, knowing that it would just put everyone in more danger, if they were even in danger to begin with._

_Months went by without incident. After a year, things gradually changed. Regina expressed more interest in travel, and Leopold being wealthy, paid for her to do so. She made herself scarce, which gave Snow the comfort she needed to go to college. With Regina off doing whatever she was doing, rarely home, she didn’t need to be around constantly to protect her father. Her university was only an hour from home, but she still felt on edge most nights, wondering if Regina and him were alone._

_She didn’t believe that Regina would actually hurt either of them, but she was unpredictable and impulsive and seemed to hate Snow. She hadn’t given Snow reason to trust her in years, but she couldn’t seem to shake the intrinsic trust she had for her stepmother. Herc was back home keeping an eye on Leopold for Snow, so if anything that made her feel like everything was okay._

_Four years later, Snow graduated college, having studied English and Biology. Her father cried at her ceremony, telling her he couldn’t be prouder. He told her that Regina was proud too, even though she couldn’t make it. Snow wondered if either of those things were true before shaking the thought from her head, relieved that Regina wasn’t there. Herc was there too, and he pulled her into a tight hug, congratulating her for being one of the few Slayers to make it through college, and she made a quiet joke to him about how she’d probably killed more vampires than taken tests, to which he responded that she’d probably been bested by more tests than vampires._

_She and Herc spent the summer on a “vampire hunt road trip,” which was a total success. Snow felt more alive and useful than ever. She was meant to save the_ world _from vampires, not just Massachusetts and driving across the states, slaying vampires along the way, made her feel like she was finally fulfilling her purpose. She was so happy about it, they decided to extend their trip, planning to return for Snow’s twenty-third birthday._

_“You realize we’re going to have to deal with Regina eventually, right?” Herc asked her as they approached Snow’s home._

_She shrugged. “I don’t see why we would have to unless she gave us reason to. As far as I know, we have no reason to. It’s been years, and nothing has happened. Maybe she’s good.”_

_“No vampire is good, Snow.”_

_“We’ll see,” she muttered, more to herself than to him, looking at her house out the window as they drove up. It was almost midnight, so she wasn’t surprised to see that most of the lights were out. She vaguely wondered if Regina was there._

_When they stepped into the house, Snow sensed that something was off. It was too quiet for how alive the air felt. She moved through the house, calling out, “Dad?” No answer. “Regina?” No answer. She shrugged as she set her stuff down but turned to find Herc looking as on edge as she felt. She wasn’t imagining things. Eventually she made her way upstairs, everything becoming creepier the further she went._

_The grandfather clock in the hall went off, and Snow nearly jumped out of her skin. It was midnight. She stood for a moment, frozen. Herc had gone upstairs a while ago, and she wasn’t sure why he had disappeared or where he had ended up. She could hear the clock ticking next to her, listening to time pass but hearing nothing else. It felt like a longer time than she knew it was when she heard a voice behind her. “We’re the same age now.” Snow spun around and found herself facing Regina, a sly grin on her face. “Happy birthday, Snow.”_

_“Regina, what’s going on? Something’s wrong.”_

_“Are you sure?” Regina took a step closer to her, causing Snow to take a step back before realizing she was getting herself cornered. “We waited up for you, Snow, there’s no reason to worry. Your father is in our bedroom.” Regina offered out her hand to Snow, and she took it, shivering at how cold it felt compared to her own. She remained silent as she let Regina lead her to her father’s room._

_Regina dropped behind her, and Snow stopped in the doorway, turning towards her. “Something doesn’t feel right. Is everything okay?” Her stepmother gave her an impatient smile before shoving her into the room, hard enough for Snow to stagger into the middle, but not hard enough to knock her over. She heard the door click shut behind her. “Regina, what--”_

_But she was cut off by the feeling of Regina’s cold hands gripping her arms, holding them down to her sides, the sudden vision of Regina’s contorted vampire face, the sound of Regina’s growl in her ear, and a sudden pain shooting throughout her body as she felt something sharp penetrating her neck._

_That was when the room started spinning._

_All she could see was darkness and all she could taste was blood. She heard crying but she wasn’t sure if it was her own or Herc’s or her father’s. There were warm bodies pressed against her, cold hands pushing her, and warmth pooling in her stomach. She kept trying to speak, to ask Regina what was happening, to call out for Herc, but nothing came out and it took her a minute to realize that something was blocking her mouth. She tried to see what it was but couldn’t, and it took her another minute to realize her eyes were closed. She opened her eyes and freed her mouth, and suddenly the room was more still than it had ever been._

_The first thing she saw was Herc, dead, across the room. The scent of his blood was overpowering. The second thing she saw was her father lying beneath her, blood draining from his neck in what Snow recognized as a vampire bite. The third thing she saw were her father’s eyes, wide and alive, staring at her in horror, and that’s when she realized that_ she _had done this._

_She could still taste his blood, warm in her mouth, and she hated herself for liking it. Her eyes filled with tears as she pulled her father into her arms, pressing a hand gently to his face. When he recoiled from her touch, the tears began to pour. She was unable to stop them. “Daddy, no. I promise I won’t hurt you.” At her sincerity his eyes softened ever so slightly, and he tried to bring his hand to hers, wincing in pain. “It’s going to be alright,” Snow told him, choking back sobs. “I promise you, it’ll be alright.” He gave her a weak smile, eyes still laced with fear and sorrow and disappointment. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. I love you.” She pulled him closer to her. He opened his mouth as if to speak, but before he could, everything stopped. His face went slack. Snow wept, throwing herself onto her father’s limp body, only tearing herself away when she heard a sharp breath across the room to her left._

_Tears still pouring, Snow turned to see Regina standing and staring at Snow, mouth agape, clearly shook. Snow looked back down at her father’s body and planted a soft kiss on his forehead before closing his eyes and standing to walk towards Regina. When she got to her, Regina flinched slightly before Snow threw herself at her, throwing her arms around Regina and burying her face into her neck, sobbing uncontrollably once again._

_Regina stiffened in her arms and made no move to comfort her. When Snow registered the awkward lack of response she pulled back from Regina, still staring at her with a mix of shock and confusion. Snow blinked at her curiously. She considered the situation, her best friend and father’s bodies just feet away, Snow having just killed them, Snow’s blood on Regina’s parted lips from siring her. Ultimately Regina was the reason that Herc and Leopold, and technically Snow, were dead, but she didn’t feel angry at her. She wasn’t bitter or resentful or full of rage. Instead she was seeking comfort with the woman who just destroyed her life._

_“You have a soul.” Regina’s voice crept out, voicing Snow’s suspicions. She was looking at Snow with a mix of horror, jealousy, anger, and for a moment Snow thought she saw remorse, but she couldn’t be sure. She stepped back, almost as if she were afraid. When she started to turn, Snow grabbed her arm, pulling her back, not realizing how tight her grip was until Regina winced._

_“Regina wait, please don’t go. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. You’re the only one who can help me. You’re all I have.” Snow’s voice broke, and Regina’s eyes gazed upon her with pity._

_“Don’t be ridiculous, Snow. You’re better off without me.” She glanced over Snow’s shoulder as an indication. “You were a vampire Slayer and now you’re a vampire. You have a soul, which means you can find a way to have a life.”_

_With a soft sniffle, Snow looked behind her, “That was my life.”_

_“Yeah, and_ who _did that?”_

 _“Me._ I _did that.” Snow’s voice was strained, but firm. Regina opened her mouth as if to argue, but hesitated, her eyes flashing from the sorrow in Snow’s eyes to the blood dried on her mouth to the scene behind her. Her eyes went cold as Snow held her gaze, tears pooling._

 _“_ You _did that.” Regina snarled at her, Snow was silent for a long moment before she opened her mouth, conflicted about what she wanted to say. She did do it, but only because Regina sired her._

_“But…” Snow started._

_“But what? I did it too because I’m the one who made you like this?” Regina took a step closer to her, close enough that Snow could feel her breath on her face, smell her blood on Regina’s tongue. “You are the reason you are like this. If you had just kept your mouth shut, we would still be one big happy family.”_

_Snow blinked, taken aback. “Regina, what-- I don’t understand--”_

_“Of course you don’t.” Regina all but hissed at her. “My mother was a vampire, Snow. She was a selfish vampire who never loved me, only money and power. You think I married your father because I_ loved _him? I married him because_ she _blackmailed me. And when you told her about Daniel, everything she ever wanted was threatened and she had to take care of it in the only vindictive way she knew how.”_

_Tears were once again pouring down Snow’s face. She asked, even though she knew what the answer was going to be, and she didn’t want to hear it. “What did she do?”_

_“What do you think? She made me like her, in front of Daniel, knowing that as a new vampire, I would be delirious and bloodthirsty and out of control. I was going to go after the first living creature, and she made sure it was Daniel. I killed him.” Regina’s voice broke, putting a crack in the coldness of her eyes. She pulled them away, and Snow was sure she was holding back tears. “I can’t feel anything. I have no soul, so I don’t even regret it. But I think back to who I used to be, and that’s when I think that I can feel it. My heart doesn’t warm like it used to and the flutter in my stomach has long dissipated, but I think about him often, and when I do, I remember that he made me feel, and I remember that it all was pulled away from me by someone who should have loved me, someone I thought I could trust.”_

_Snow struggled for words, unsure of how to comfort someone without a soul. “Regina, I know your mother was--”_

_“I wasn’t talking about my mother, I was talking about you,” Regina snapped, her eyes shooting back to Snow’s. “My mother may fit that description as well, but I expected as much from her, which is why I never told her about Daniel in the first place.” Regina chuckled, taking a step away from Snow. “But she was easy to deal with. I killed her. It’s what she deserved. But you, you don’t deserve something easy like that. I’ve had a few plans, and maybe I can make them all work out, so we’re going to call this Regina’s Revenge Phase One. You’re a suffering vampire like me, only more so because you somehow have a soul. And you’ve just killed the only living people you love.”_

_With a snicker, Regina turned to leave, “Regina, you have to believe me, I had no idea--”_

_“It’s too late for apologies, Snow. The best thing you can do for me now,” Regina paused, turning in the doorway to glare at Snow, “Is suffer.” And with that, she was gone, leaving Snow falling to the ground in despair, haunted by the smell of the blood of her loved ones around her, hungry for more, disgusted with herself._

_In the following months, Snow didn’t usually see Regina, but when she did, the two of them were fighting; Regina about to attack another innocent mortal, and Snow fighting Regina off to save their life. She tried to maintain her reputation as the Slayer as best she could, but her vampire face and teeth tended to show when she fought, even if she didn’t want them to. Regina would mock her every time, leaving Snow snarling at her, literally, and the person she was trying to save, scurrying away confused and afraid._

_Other than the frustrating run-ins with Regina, Snow hated being a vampire more than she’d ever hated anything. It didn’t say much, as Snow was pretty sure she’d never hated anything in her life, but being a vampire was decidedly the worst thing to ever happen to her. Sometimes she wished she could at least be a soulless vampire like Regina, because that would mean she wouldn’t feel remorse and feeding herself would be easier. She felt bad going after rats to suck the blood from (and they were only rats!), and humans were totally out of the question. It took her a while to realize that she could buy blood from butcher shops, but it took her even longer to be able to do that without feeling suspicious and weird._

_Other than the diet problems, she mostly just wanted to be human. She wanted to return to her life as the vampire Slayer and save the world, not be part of the subspecies tormenting it._

_Every chance Snow got, she sought out answers, doing research on vampires and Slayers. She even tried to turn to the Council of Watchers that Herc was a part of, but she never managed to get in contact with them. She was sure they presumed her dead, and that was confirmed almost a year after she was turned, when she found Regina in a battle against a young woman._

_Snow shoved Regina off of the girl, who was left at Snow’s back. Regina gasped, and Snow was confused at Regina’s surprise before she felt something sharp penetrating her back. She whimpered, turning to see the young woman panting, confused, empty handed, before she realized what had happened. She felt Regina’s cold hand against her as well as the pointy object being pulled from her back, her theory confirmed when the stake landed at the girl’s feet. Regina walked from behind Snow to stand next to her. “Wrong side, dear. The heart is on the left.”_

_Snow gaped at the girl in front of her, ignoring Regina. “Who_ are _you? What did I ever do to you?”_

_The girl glowered, taking a fighting stance. “I’m the Slayer.”_

_Flinching, Snow was shocked, unsure of how to act now face to face with one of her successors who clearly had no idea who she was. To this new Slayer, Snow was just another dirty vampire. She understood the girl better than any human could, but she was immediately othered and labelled as the bad guy, unable to speak up for herself. She felt herself fall to the ground in shock, felt Regina move beside her, heard the sounds of a fight, heard words of hate and “us against you” before something was tugging her arm violently._

_“Snow, you need to get out of here, I’ll only tell you once.” Regina’s voice was right next to her ear, and Snow jumped in surprise when she saw that Regina was directly in front of her, propping her up by the arms. “It’s time to go.” Snow felt herself nodding and following Regina, only stopping when she turned to see the girl’s body on the ground, bleeding from the chest. She felt her arm being pulled again, and she let it happen, hearing someone in the distance yelling a name, presumably the Slayer, now dead._

_Regina had dragged her a safe enough distance away and then fled. Snow had never asked her why she bothered, but she was grateful nonetheless. Her thoughts frequently strayed back to the Slayer Regina had killed, Regina’s second Slayer kill after Snow. She had known that once she was changed, she had died, triggering the calling of a new Slayer, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it. Part of her wanted more than anything to continue life as it was, living as both the Slayer and a vampire, but something about coming face to face with a new girl who called herself the Slayer and wanted Snow dead, showed her that the reality she wanted was impossible._

_For the most part, Snow found her life to be uneventful and routine. She worked third shift at a twenty-four hour coffee house to pay for her blood at the butcher shop, as well as rent for the cheapest apartment in Boston, and it was there that she last saw Regina. She was lingering out the door to the building, not even remotely trying to cover herself from the pouring rain. Snow almost didn’t see her, and she wouldn’t have acknowledged her if she hadn’t have spoken._

_“It’s not over.”_

_Snow spun around, surprised to see the woman who matched the voice. “Regina, what are you talking about?”_

_Regina’s eyes were dark and hostile, but Snow didn’t pull back or look away. “My revenge. You may not see me for a while, but it isn’t over. It’s only a matter of time.” She didn’t wait for Snow’s response as she turned to walk away, disappearing into the dark. Snow wasn’t sure what to expect, but she was sure Regina couldn’t make her life any worse._

_For months, her life went on in its same pattern, until one day, there was a guy. He smiled at Snow with a sheepish “hi” before she had to ask him what he wanted to which he responded “I don’t know. I actually forgot about the coffee,” and the two laughed it off together. His name was David, and he was cute. She was surprised to see him there a week later. Eventually he started coming every night, and Snow didn’t know she was attached until one night when he wasn’t there at his usual time at exactly midnight, and she missed him._

_That night, forty-five minutes after midnight, he came running in. No one was there, so he marched straight up to Snow at the counter and said, “forget the coffee,” before reaching for her and pulling her into a kiss that Snow excitedly reciprocated, her vampire heart suddenly pulsing like a burst of energy, filled with a fire she hadn’t felt since she was human. Everything about it felt right, and it still felt right months later when the two of them had been out on quite a few dates and had shared quite a few intimate experiences._

_Snow had been nervous telling David who she was, but she knew it would be better sooner rather than later, so she finally worked up the courage to say, “I’m a vampire, but I’m also a vampire Slayer. I’m a vampire with a soul.” For a moment she thought he was going to get up and leave, but he only pulled her closer into him, kissing her on the head._

_The night she opened up to him was the night he told her that he loved her. She wasn’t surprised when she said it back. For the most part, they made it work, and their relationship wasn’t typical, but it was ideal. David started working the third shift too, so they would be able to spend more time together, and when they weren’t working at night, he would help her save humanity, and in the daytime, he would run errands, making sure they had everything they needed or looking for new books to research in, learning about vampires and the Slayer._

_When Snow got pregnant, they knew it wouldn’t be discussed in any book. They couldn’t find any information on vampires with souls, much less vampire pregnancy. The only person Snow could think to ask was Regina, but she hadn’t seen her for months._

_David and Snow focused on not getting their hopes up and making assumptions on how the pregnancy should be handled. They tried not to get too attached to the idea of a baby because they knew that anything could happen. They didn’t settle on a name just in case everything went horribly wrong. They tried not to expect too much, but always found themselves expecting the best because they had no reason not to._

_For obvious reasons, they had been avoiding doctors and hospitals, but when the day came, David didn’t hesitate to take Snow to the emergency room, counting their blessings that the sun had just gone down and that Snow had just fed. Check-in at the hospital went smoother than David expected it to, and he was relieved when they started to wheel Snow to a delivery room. He kissed her once on the head, once on the lips before telling her, “I love you. I’ll find you in a minute, I left your bag in the car.” She nodded at him, smiling, screaming out as another contraction hit her in a hard wave. And then David was running._

_Meanwhile, Snow was sitting up in a hospital bed, screaming. It had been too late for an epidural, which meant that she was having a natural birth. It took all the energy she could spare to keep her face looking human rather than vamping out, and it didn’t help that David was nowhere to be found. She had nothing to compare the birth to, but she was sure it went faster than most births did because the doctors looked stunned when the baby’s cries pierced the air after Snow managed a few large pushes._

_She was grateful that it was shorter than she expected, and even more grateful at the sound of her normal human baby crying out, an exclamation of how alive it was, and she was the most grateful when her baby stopped crying and cooed. They were swaddling the baby after cleaning her up when the door swung open._

_“David!” Snow looked over to the door, a wide grin on her face as the nurse set her baby in her arms, wrapped up in a pastel yellow blanket, taking a picture of the two, but her smile immediately faltered when her eyes locked with Regina’s. “Regina, what are you doing here? Where’s David?”_

_She remained expressionless as she walked toward Snow. “I didn’t tell you the whole story, about what you cost me by telling my mother my secret.” Snow’s eyes widened, and Regina sat on the bed next to her, smirking as Snow drew herself and her baby back, suddenly wondering why all the nurses had just left like they did. Regina continued. “The day my mother found me and Daniel, the day I became a vampire, I lost everything that mattered to me. I lost my soul and my humanity, I lost the love of my life, I lost the one person I trusted the most, I lost my mother, but worst of all, I lost my baby. The one I’ll never have.”_

_“Wait, but that would mean--”_

_“I was pregnant when my mother sired me. With_ Daniel’s _baby.”_

_And that’s when it sunk in. Snow realized what Regina was doing there, just as Regina gently lifted the baby out of her arms, leaving Snow powerless to fight back, not wanting to hurt her newborn. Regina leaned towards the baby, taking a deep whiff in. “She’s human,” she commented, sounding unimpressed._

_“She? We have a daughter...” Snow muttered, in awe, not reacting to the situation until Regina was standing up with her baby. “Regina, no. Please don’t take her,” Snow cried. Regina just smirked._

_“Let’s just call this phase two.”_

_The last thing Snow heard before she blacked out was the sound of her baby’s cries echoing through the hall._

_The next thing she knew, there was a hand on her shoulder shaking her awake. She was at home, looking David in the eyes. “David, I just had the worst nightmare.” She began to tell him about it, stopping short when she noted the fear and concern in his eyes. “It was real.” She struggled to her feet, feeling weak and exhausted. “David, we have to find her. Our daughter. Regina took her.” It took her a moment to gather her thoughts while David stared at her, waiting for Snow to catch on. “Wait, we were at the hospital. What are we doing at home?”_

_David hesitated, “We have to be careful. The police and the hospital can’t find out about vampires or we will never be reunited. I had to get us out of there before they figured anything out.” Snow nodded, understanding, and she reached her hand out to hold his, entwining their fingers together. He looked down at them, strengthening the connection before letting out a shaky breath. “I’m so scared, Snow.”_

_“I know you are, but I promise you it’ll be fine. Regina’s lost a baby before, so I doubt she would let a baby die, not even mine. Our daughter will be fine.” A tear rolled its way down Snow’s face, closely followed by another one. “We have to believe that somehow she’s going to end up getting her best chance.” She tried to give David a convincing smile, but it only came out teary. Before she could stop herself, she was sobbing into his lap. “I am so sorry, David, this is all my fault.”_

_“Hey, hey, Snow, please don’t say that,” David spoke to her in a tender voice. “Don’t blame yourself for this. You couldn’t have known.” He pulled her into his lap, allowing her to cry into his shoulder while he stroked the back of her neck, kissing her head periodically._

_Snow pulled back to look at him. Her voice broke, “What if it won't be okay?” And suddenly, David was off the couch, rummaging through things, tossing stuff into a duffel bag, and Snow was concerned to say the least. “David, what are you doing?”_

_“I’m going to find her, Snow. I’m going to find our daughter.” Snow gazed at him half in admiration and half in disbelief._

_“I’m coming with you.” Snow stood to start packing alongside him, but he stopped her._

_“Snow, it can’t be you. Regina will be expecting you to go after her, and I can’t have her taking you too. I want you to stay out of harm's way as best as you can.” Snow wanted to fight him on it, but she knew he had a point._

_“I don’t like this plan.”_

_“I knew you wouldn’t.” They stood together at the door, David on his way out, not wanting to waste any time. “I love you, Snow.”_

_“I love you too, David. Please be safe,” Snow responded as the two shared one last kiss._

_David pulled away, eyes filled with love and promise and everything Snow didn’t want to lose. “I will find our daughter, and we will find you again. I promise.”_

_She watched him walk away, retreating into the dark, her heart heavy with sadness and fear, but also full of love and belief and hope. “I know.”_

_Snow didn’t stop believing, even after a year of waiting. After five years, Snow was more worried than anything, starting to assume the worst, but she pulled herself out of it, trusting that it wasn’t over until it was over, not losing hope. After ten years, Snow found it harder to keep going, and she was amazed she had made it as long as she did in the same pattern. After twelve years of working in the coffee shop, she had been promoted to manager, but she declined, noting the obvious aging on her coworkers and the half-suspicious, half-jealous looks on their faces as she remained the same, just like every other year._

_On almost a whim, Snow decided to move, find a new job in a new place with different people. It wasn’t that she had lost hope, it was just that it was harder to keep believing and almost painful to wait around. David wouldn’t have wanted this for her, so she decided to seek out other opportunities, and it was luck that she found an opening at a high school library in Maine. Being a librarian was something she had dreamed of as a kid, and she went into the application process head first, and when they offered her the job, she accepted immediately and moved the following week._

_Snow had no idea where David was, she had no idea where her daughter was, and she had no idea where Regina was, but as soon as she set foot in the library of Storybrooke High, she knew she had made the right choice._

_When Emma Swan appeared before her four years later, Snow inherently found herself believing in hope, stronger than ever before._

* * *

 

By the time Snow finishes her story, Emma is surprised at herself for not running off again. It’s more information than she knows what to do with, and she’s frustrated that she came here looking for answers and got them, but now all she has is more questions than she started with.

“Emma?” Snow asks hesitantly, but Emma just shakes her head, refusing to meet Snow’s eyes. She hears Snow shift in her seat. “It’s okay Emma, take all the time you need.”

Emma let a moment pass before deciding to speak. “It’s just so much. I don’t really know where to start. I... “ She sighs, finally looking up at Snow. “You’re a vampire.” The older woman nods in response. “Okay so how are you even working here? You’re supposed to be nocturnal. This is a day job.”

Snow snorts, a failed smile vanishing as quickly as it appears. “It’s difficult but I can manage. My tolerance to the sun is higher than most vampires. I can’t be hit by direct sunlight, but if it’s near me, so long as I’m not in it or under it, I’ll be out of harm’s way. Besides, it’s not like this is the brightest room.” She gestures around at the lack of windows. Emma just stares at her incredulously.

“Okay but--” Emma stops short when she realizes just how speechless she is at the entire scenario. “Sorry, this is just too weird.” Emma stands, meaning to leave, but instead finds herself pacing back and forth while Mary Margaret watches her. “I mean, what do I even say to all this?” She stops pacing, throwing her hands up.

“Emma, I realize this is a lot for you to process, but you don’t need to do it all right now. There’s plenty of time. If you want to, I can lend you some of those books I told you about. In the meantime, you should be armed at all times.”

“Because of Regina or because of you?” Emma asked without missing a beat. Snow inhaled sharply, tearing her eyes away from Emma. “I’m sorry, it’s just… I know you have a soul, but you’re still a vampire and that still makes you my enemy. How do I know I can trust you?”

Snow looks hurt, and rightfully so, but Emma has every right to be worried. Snow looks defeated, and it comes as a surprise when Snow starts to answer Emma’s question. “It’s going to be up to you, whether you trust me or not. But I want to tell you about the Council of Watchers.”

“The what?”

“The Council of Watchers. They’re the ones who sent me the file you found yesterday. Herc was a Watcher, _my_ Watcher. Part of the Council. For a long time, they were the ones keeping track of the Slayer, but after everything that happened with me, I haven’t heard from them. I didn’t even know they were still active, so I was surprised when they reached out to me. They sent me your file and asked me to be your Watcher. I don’t know if you could trust the Council having never met them, but it seems that they trust me.”

“Why didn’t they contact me sooner? I’m not positive, but I think I was the Slayer before that night with my foster family, and it’s been over a year since that happened. If they couldn’t be there for me earlier, how can I trust them now?” Snow opens her mouth, but Emma put her hands up. “No, I’m sorry. I can’t do this right now.” She darts before Snow can say anything else. Snow offered her time, and Emma is taking it.

By the time Emma leaves the school, it’s already getting dark, and the only weapon she has on her is the stake Regina gave her. She groans and rolls her eyes, pulling the stake out to keep it on hand. For the first time, she stops to really look at it, immediately noting that it isn’t just a piece of wood whittled to a point, but something intricate and intentional. Intimate as well, she realizes, as she brushes her thumb over the carving of a crown and the initials “RM” on the base end of the stake.

There are a lot of things troubling Emma at the moment, but Regina is suddenly at the top of her list. The infuriating vampire hadn’t made sense when they first met, and she makes even less sense now that Snow has talked about her past with Regina. The personalized stake from the brunette’s childhood apple tree takes the cake, and Emma doesn’t even want to get started with how attractive she finds the vampire. The second her mind starts drifting to Regina’s dark eyes, and, _god_ , that outfit, Emma snaps her thoughts back to Snow’s traumatizing story so fast she nearly trips on a crack in the sidewalk.

She actually staggers for a moment before groaning at her own clumsiness, grateful that she’s nearly in front of her house. _But seriously, what is Regina’s deal?_ Her mind strays right back to the one thing she doesn’t feel like thinking about. The more she considers Snow’s story and Regina’s part in it all, the more she just wants to hear everything from Regina’s perspective as well. Emma wants to believe she can trust Snow, but the intrinsic feeling that is drawing her to Regina leaves her nothing less than suspicious. Why does she feel the need to trust someone that destroyed the life of a person just trying to do the right thing? It must be the pants, Emma decides, chuckling at her horrible joke.

“What’s so funny?” At the sound of that voice behind her, Emma spins around, nearly tripping again. Her green eyes meet dark ones, and the woman before her is smirking, not so much evil as she is amused. Emma turns her eyes away, only to find them back on Regina’s outfit before she catches herself and looks at the space above the brunette’s head.

“What do you want, Regina?” Instinctively, she grips the stake in her hand, noting the way Regina’s eyes flicker to it with a knowing smile.

“I just want to talk.”

Emma scoffs. “Yeah right. What the fuck could you possibly have to say to me? I thought you wanted to kill me?” Regina opens her mouth to speak, but Emma stops her before she can, “Yeah, no, save it. We can talk some other time, but right now, I just want to go home. I’ve got enough on my mind without you adding to that pile any more than you already have.” She turns to walk home, but is soon stopped by Regina abruptly stepping in front of her.

“Excuse me?” Emma blinks at her, thrown by how close the two of them are now standing and the way Regina’s eyes seem to blacken with anger. She responds with a feeble shrug and a step back. “What have I done to add to that pile of crap you call your mind?”

Emma gapes at her, “I think you ought to apologize. I’ll have you know that I’m actually pretty smart, which you wouldn’t know because we only met yesterday.”

With a scoff, Regina responds, “Yeah, and from what I learned about you yesterday, you really aren’t all that smart, walking around alone in a graveyard in the dark without a weapon, not even oblivious to what could have happened to you. Remember?”

“‘What could have happened to you…’” Emma mutters before looking back into Regina’s eyes, “There you go again, talking like you care so much about me, but for one, you literally don’t know me, and two, you’re a vampire and I’m the Slayer, so our grounds for friendship are a little rocky, don’t you think?”

Regina grins. “Look at that, Slayer, you finally said it.” Emma rolls her eyes. “And anyway, who said I wanted to be your friend?” For a moment, the two of them just stand there staring at each other, and Emma suddenly feels awkward about the entire interaction. She starts backing up the sidewalk leading to the front door of her home, eyes still on Regina.

“Look, I don’t want to talk, or fight, or whatever, right now, maybe later.” She continues to shuffle up the walkway, turning to face the house instead of Regina, and it takes everything she has to suppress a groan when Regina is suddenly in front of her, again, stopping her.

“I just want to talk,” Regina says again.

“Regina, stop, please. I’m going inside, I’m sure that whatever you want to talk about can wait until tomorrow.” Emma slides past her, climbing onto the porch and opening the door. She suddenly feels a hand on her shoulder, cold but gentle, and a shiver runs down her spine, and almost immediately Regina pulls her hand back. Emma turns to look at her.

Regina seems momentarily distracted before she shakes her head and meets Emma’s eyes. “Why don’t we talk inside?” She asks, looking towards the open door.

Emma scoffs, crossing her arms as she turns to face Regina. “Are you serious? I know you think I’m dumb, but I know better than to invite a vampire into my house.” She raises her voice, unable to hide her frustration at Regina’s unrelenting attempts to interrupt Emma’s night. She eyes the open door behind her, vaguely aware that her new family is somewhere inside. Her mind suddenly flashes back to the last time a vampire was this close to the home of her foster family, and how poorly that went. “You need to leave. _Now_.”

As she steps through the door, Regina growls behind her. “You are the most insufferable, infuriating--” Regina stops, sighing deeply. “You _will_ listen to me, and we _will_ fight. I will destroy you if it’s the last thing I do.” Her eyes flare with anger, and Emma doesn’t feel the least bit bad about slamming the door in her face.

“Bye, Regina, always a pleasure, talk soon!” She yells through the door in one breath, rolling her eyes and listening to the indignant huff coming from the other side of the now locked door and the sound of dejected footsteps stamping their way off the porch.

She makes her way through the house, going straight up to her room. She’s surprised to see August in there waiting for her, standing in the middle of the room, arms crossed, expression confused. “I think we should talk.”

It had been easy to deny Regina her attention, fun even, but when it came to August, Emma wasn’t about to piss him off for fun. She considers for a moment how weird it is to think that sassing Regina is amusing and how it makes her feel some kind of way watching a storm start brewing in those dark eyes, but she lets all those thoughts go in favor of agreeing to talk to August.

As it turns out, he had heard Emma and Regina through his open window, not catching all of it, but hearing enough to confront Emma, the word “vampire” being his main focus. She explained the basics to him, that vampires are real, that there’s a vampire Slayer, that _she’s_ the Slayer, that the woman she was talking to is a vampire and _probably_ her arch nemesis, and that he has nothing to worry about. She tells him about the incident with her former foster family and her year of getting tossed from school to school, but she leaves out the parts involving Snow being a vampire and the connection the woman has with Regina. She does tell him about Snow and the whole “Watcher” thing, explaining her apprehensions about it and her distrust of Snow that she’s constantly second guessing. He nods calmly for the whole conversation, giving Emma the time she needs to tell him everything.

The fact that he wanted to talk, but is mostly just listening, makes her wonder if Regina had wanted to be the one to talk or if she wanted to listen. Emma’s sure she already knows the answer, but that doesn’t stop her from considering the possibility that Regina would be considerate of Emma.

When she’s finished, August seems conflicted, like Emma probably had earlier, when she didn’t know where to start with questions. She takes it as a good sign that he isn’t panicking. “So,” he begins slowly, “you’re like a superhero, called to save the world from vampires, and our librarian is like your guide.”

Emma nods, “Yeah, pretty much.”

“But you don’t trust her?”

“It’s complicated, you know. I really shouldn’t trust her because it’s like our genetics or something make us mortal enemies, with her being a soulless vampire and all, but sometimes I just get this really weird feeling that I’m totally misreading my instinct, and--”

“Wait, wait,” August cuts her off. “Vampire? I wasn’t asking about Regina, I was asking about Snow.”

“Oh.” Emma’s eyebrows furrow in confusion, realizing that was obviously what he was talking about. August looked pointedly at her, still waiting for his answer. “I guess it’s all just hard to wrap my mind around still, and Snow came out of nowhere. She knew my name and who I was, and it’s been hard for me to accept it all. I think I should be able to trust her, but I don’t know. It’s like it feels okay until it doesn’t.” Emma shakes her head, looking away. “Sorry, that makes no sense.”

“Actually, it makes a lot of sense. You’ve been through a lot in the past year, and I think that whether it’s Snow or someone else, you could really use a mentor. It’s probably normal that you don’t trust her now, but you ought to give her a chance, especially if she knows about this stuff. You can’t expect some perfect magical connection.”

“But sometimes…” She trails off, shaking her head. ‘Sometimes it seems like there is’ is what she wants to say. She isn’t sure how to explain it, but something about Snow teaching her and helping her through life feels natural and right, and that’s what scares her more than anything. “I don’t know, August. I guess you’re right. I’ll go back and talk to her tomorrow.”

August smiles at her. “I think that’s a great idea. Also I want you to know that I’m here if you ever want help. You know, with vampires and stuff. Maybe I wouldn’t be so great with the fighting, but maybe I could help with the research. Or if you wanted me to fight, I would do that too. For you.”

Emma can’t help but laugh, “Thanks, bro. Snow has some books apparently if you want to look at them with me. But first I wanna make sure it’s okay with her. As far as the fighting goes, I’d rather you didn’t. I’ve seen you play dodgeball.”

“Touché.” The two of them laugh together before Emma stops, looking seriously at August.

“You don’t think Marco knows, do you? I mean, the circumstances of being sent here after being sent from place to place are kind of… suspicious? I know he just wants to help me, but I can’t help but worry that…” Emma falters, suddenly nervous to share her thoughts on the situation with August.

“You think he might have ulterior motives?”

“I don’t know. Maybe?” Emma says quietly, eyes on the ground. “Is that horrible of me to think? Maybe I just have serious trust issues. It honestly wouldn’t surprise me, what with how many times trust has come up today.”

August pulls her into a hug. “Emma, it’s fine. It’s probably natural of you to be suspicious, especially of new homes. I can tell you right now though that you don’t have to worry about Dad. He doesn’t know about any of this, and he just wants to make you feel accepted and happy here, okay? Trust me.” Emma snorts. “I’m serious, Emma. You can trust me. And I’m fairly certain you can trust Dad and Snow. Neal and Ruby too. You just have to give yourself some time.”

Emma smiles at him. “Thanks, August.” Pulling back from the hug, she continues, “I’ll let you know about vampire research tomorrow, okay? I’m going to try to get to school early so I can talk to Snow in the morning.”

“Well you better go to sleep now then, you need all the sleep you can get so you don’t look like the walking dead in the morning.” A look of exaggerated horror crosses over August’s face. “Oh god, are zombies real too?”

With a chuckle, Emma playfully shoves him through her door. “Goodnight, August. We can talk about zombies tomorrow because I know exactly zero things on the existence of zombies.”

“I look forward to it. Good night, Emma.”

“Good night, August.” She closes her door behind him, and lets herself crash on the bed. She feels something uncomfortable beneath her back, and she reaches under, pulling out Regina’s stake. She twirls it in her hands for a moment, just feeling it’s weight and the softness of the wood. She runs her fingers over the carving at the bottom once again, “RM,” before she tosses it to the floor in frustration.

Willing herself not to think about the complicated situation with Regina, she decides that she needs to sort everything out with Snow before moving on to all the complexities Regina is presumably going to cause. She turns over in bed, comforted by the fact that she won’t have to worry about Regina until the following night at the earliest.

She drifts off to sleep.

The next morning, Emma makes it to the high school earlier than she feels is legal, but she deems it okay because she’s finally ready to talk to Snow again. When she heads out, it’s still kind of dark outside, and when Emma makes it all the way to school without seeing Regina, she feels as though it’s a win. She can only handle one talk at a time, and Regina needs to learn to wait her turn. Emma smirks to herself, feeling like she might have the upper hand after all.

She keeps a stake on hand anyways, just in case, but not the one from Regina. Honestly, she feels a little weird actually _wanting_ to carry Regina’s stake, which is what drove her to just leave it under her bed where she wouldn’t have to look at it. After all, Emma’s favorite way to leave something unaddressed is to blatantly ignore it.

When she makes it to the school, she goes straight to the library, to Snow’s office, and she isn’t surprised to see the librarian already there. She speaks from the doorway. “I guess you _would_ have to get here super early to avoid the sun, wouldn’t you?”

Snow spins around in surprise. “Emma.” She stands to greet her. “Would you like some coffee?”

Emma looks at her in disbelief, “ _You_ drink coffee? I thought you only drank blood.”

“Well clearly, you have a lot to learn. I _love_ coffee.” Snow smiles at her. “Besides, you look like you could use it.” Snow makes Emma a mug without her confirmation. “Cream and sugar?”

“Uh, just cream is fine.” Emma accepts the coffee with a thank you and sits on the small armchair stuffed into the corner of Snow’s tiny office. “I’m sorry if I was rude yesterday. I was really overwhelmed.” Snow nods with understanding, smiling at Emma, encouraging her to carry on. “I slept on it and talked to August some, and I’m ready to talk to you more about everything from yesterday.”

“You talked to August?” Snow doesn’t look angry, much to Emma’s relief, but she’s still worried that Snow won’t be okay with bringing August into this mess.

“Shit, yeah, sorry. He kind of overheard me yelling at Regina? So I had to tell him about vampires, and me being the Slayer, and you being my Watcher... kind of just the basics. He doesn’t know about you though. That you’re a vampire. That you know Regina. _How_ you know Regina. I actually didn’t really tell him much about Regina either.”

“You saw Regina last night?” Concern spreads across Snow’s face.

“Uh, yeah, kinda. She wanted to talk, but I blew her off. Slammed the door in her face. It was pretty fun actually.” Emma smiles at the memory.

“She knows where you live?”

“Well, yeah, I guess she followed me home.” Emma snorts, “Like some kind of stray puppy. But don’t worry, I didn’t let her in. She tried though, but I’m not _that_ desperate.” Emma laughs at her joke a little too much, and when Snow only looks more concerned, Emma stops laughing, changing the subject as quickly as possible. “Okayy, so I didn’t come here to talk about Regina. I wanted to ask you about some of the stuff you told me yesterday, and um, let you know that if you ever need anyone to talk to about it, you can talk to me. Maybe I don’t totally trust you yet, but I want to give you a chance.”

Snow beams at her. “Emma. Thank you, that really means a lot to me.” Emma shoots her a genuine grin back. “What did you want to ask me about? Also, I was thinking that I could show you my books on vampires and Slayers during our research period, if you’d like.”

Emma squints her eyes. “Is that why I have that period? Because you’re like my mentor? Also, I wanna ask you before I forget… is it okay if August researches vampires too? If not that’s cool, but he’s really interested so I told him I’d ask…”

“Of course, he’s welcome to. I trust him.” She takes a long sip of her coffee before looking back at Emma. “What did you want to ask me about?”

“You told me you were in love with a man, and when your daughter got taken he went to find her, but you haven’t seen either of them since, that you know of, I guess. Do you think you’ll ever see them again?”

Snow looks surprised at the intimacy of Emma’s question, but she answers it regardless. “I have no idea. You said I haven’t seen them ‘that I know of,’ and it’s so possible for me to have met my daughter and have no idea. I wouldn’t recognize her unless he was with her. He would be older now, about forty, but I would still recognize him. Of course I would.” She gazes off for a moment, a dreamy smile on her face.

“Does the Council know? Shouldn’t they be helping?”

Snow snaps out of her daze, shrugging. “I don’t know. I doubt they know I had a child. It isn’t even in the Slayer book. The only family it mentions is my father. But not him.”

“Have you looked for him? Assuming you have his name and he hasn’t changed it, it really wouldn’t be too hard to track him down. I’m sure you could if you wanted to.”

Snow grimaced slightly. “At first, before I moved, it all felt like a waiting game. Looking for him would have made me feel too clingy. After I moved, I thought about trying to look him up, but it didn’t feel right. He could have moved on, started a new family. I didn’t want to mess with that.”

Emma just nodded. “Do you think he’ll ever find you?”

“I believe we’ll see each other again, sometime down the road. I don’t know how, but I just have a feeling.” She smiled to herself. Emma helped herself to more coffee, not wanting to ask Snow too many intimate questions. “Do you believe in fate, Emma? Or in true love?”

“You mean like a soulmate?”

“Sure,” Snow says, nodding.

Emma shrugs, “I mean, I used to not believe in vampires, but it turns out, they’re real, and I’m the one chosen to fight them. So I really can’t say no.” She shrugs again. “I’m not sure I would say yes though. I haven’t really seen much proof of fate or true love in _my_ life. But then again, I’m only eighteen.”

The two talk for the remainder of the morning, and when students start screaming down the hallways at each other, Emma decides that’s her cue to leave. She’s halfway out the door of Snow’s office when Snow stops her. “Emma?”

She turns back to face the librarian, noting the unease etched across her face. “Yeah?”

“I’m worried about Regina’s… interest in you. If she says or does anything--”

“Woah, wait, Regina is _not_ interested in me. No way. Why would she be? That’s ridiculous.” Emma babbles on unable to stop herself, and when the bell rings, she’s never been more happy to hear it. Snow gives her an odd look as Emma ducks out of the room before the conversation can continue, but the words ‘Regina’ and ‘interest’ being in the same sentence haunt Emma all throughout the day.

During Emma’s sixth period with Snow, she sits in Snow’s office in the same armchair she spent her morning in and looks through the renowned _History of Slayers_ book. It goes over most Slayers, stopping a few before Emma. She reads the parts about Snow, and she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t snooping for more information about Regina. She’s both embarrassed and confused by her fascination with the vampire, and as soon as the thought crosses her mind, she has to take five minutes to just stare at the wall. _Fascination with Regina. Wow. Whatever that means_.

When Snow comes back into the office, Emma is ready. “Hey, so if I train with you, what exactly would that mean?”

“Well, for one it would entail exercise routines, and practicing certain skill sets when it comes to combat. And then there’s research so you can understand the facts. The science and theory behind vampires, as well as any information we have on certain vampires you might have to face. Like, Regina, for instance.”

Emma sits up in her seat faster than she’s comfortable admitting. “There’s books on Regina?”

Snow is making that face again. She speaks cautiously, obviously weirded out by Emma’s excitement at the Regina books. “Uh, not exactly, but I have one that has a lot about her at home, so you’ll have to look at it another time.”

Not that Emma _is_ excited, or at least, she isn’t _anymore_ , she thinks, fidgeting with her hands. “I’m just curious. You know, since I’ve seen so much of her lately.”

“I really think we need to talk about that. She’s so persistent. I just--” Snow is suddenly interrupted by the bell, and Emma takes full advantage of that once again by diving out of the armchair, not interested in getting into Regina’s motives or the way Emma feels about them. “Emma.”

“Gotta go, It’s time for gym! Me and August will be back after class.” She hears Snow sigh on her way out, and she feels a little bad for always finding a way out of talking about Regina even though her mentor is clearly concerned. She vows to talk about it before she leaves the school that day. It’s just that Regina makes her nervous, and even though they’ve only had two late night run ins, Emma really likes them. For now they’re harmless, and she doesn’t like the idea of Snow taking that away, despite how infuriating she is and how difficult she could potentially make Emma’s life if this keeps up.

She and August return to the library right after gym, and after saying goodbye to Ruby and Neal, August can hardly contain his excitement as he literally skips down the hallway in front of Emma. She sits and watches August and Snow bonding over books, Snow telling August which ones are her favorites and which ones she thinks he will like best. He reads some there, an open mouthed smile plastered to his face, and he almost doesn’t hear his alarm going off to remind him about the mathletes meeting. Emma has to snatch the book out from under his eyes just to get his attention.

“Hey!” He yells, grasping at the book as Emma yanks it out of his reach. “August, please turn that alarm off; it’s annoying as hell. Also you’ve gotta go.” August makes a pouty face at the empty space on the table the book previously occupied. “What even is this book anyway?” Emma turns it over to inspect it.

“It’s about vampire biology, can I please have it back?” August says, shutting off his alarm.

“No,” Emma says firmly. “Mathletes, remember? You don’t get to read anymore. You have to go.”

“Hey, Snow?” August calls over to her, and she comes out from behind a bookshelf looking at him expectantly. “If I protect it and keep it safe, can I please take the book with me to read more at home? I have to go to mathletes.”

Snow chuckles. “Sure, August, I trust you.” August smirks at Emma, snatching the book back from her and sticking it in his bookbag.

“Bye guys. See you at home, Emma!”

“Later, August,” Emma says as Snow waves at him. Emma slaps her hands onto the table, pushing herself up. “I guess I should be going soon too.” When Snow opens her mouth, Emma remembers that she promised herself to talk about Regina.

Like Snow can read her mind, she says, “Emma, I know you don’t want to talk about Regina, but I really am worried. She’s just very dedicated to her plans, and she holds a grudge like no one I’ve ever seen. I just think you need to be cautious. Keep an eye out.”

Emma nods. “I know you’re worried, but you really don’t have to be . She doesn’t scare me, and I’m sure I can handle her. If not, I’ll ask for help, but I promise I’ll be careful. You can trust me.” Emma offers a smile before gathering her stuff to leave. “I’ll see you tomorrow Snow.”

Snow smiles back at her. “Please be safe, Emma.”

And Emma plans to. She walks home when it’s just starting to get dark, and she goes the long way. By the time she’s made it home, it’s definitely dark outside, and she finds herself pacing the yard until she finally gets tired and hungry and decides to go inside. It isn’t until August asks her about what she’d done all day when she realizes she’d been waiting for Regina.

That night as she goes to sleep, she can’t help but feel disappointed that nothing happened, and she falls asleep wondering why.


	3. Surprise

It’s been three weeks, and Emma hasn’t run into Regina once. And it’s not like she’s  _ concerned _ , because who would be concerned about a vampire, it’s that she’s  _ confused _ , and even slightly jaded that the brunette seems to have given up on her so easily. A couple of times, Emma had intentionally gone out of her way to walk around several of the town’s graveyards at midnight, just to see if she would turn up, but she never had any luck. 

She has to admit that it isn’t just her being bitter or confused, but it’s also some curiosity. The last time they had spoken, Regina wanted to talk, and Emma blew her off. Now, she is ready to talk, Regina is nowhere to be found, and she doesn’t even know what Regina wanted to talk about. 

She’s read every single part about Regina in every single book Snow has that mentions her, and while a lot of it lines up with Snow’s story, and she didn’t exactly learn anything new from the books; she felt as though there was missing information. It seems only fair to hear Regina’s side of the story.

Emma’s currently wandering through a graveyard, alone, as usual, kicking rocks as she trudges down the gravelly path. She won’t ever admit to being here more for Regina than to rescue humanity, but it’s not like she can’t fight vampires while also hoping Regina shows up. Honestly, she’s more comfortable coming out to hunt vampires than she is coming out for Regina, in more ways than one.

She hears something move behind her, and she spins around and raises her hand holding the stake, stopping short when her eyes land on familiar dark ones. “Regina!” She feels her face smiling, and she can’t get it to stop.

Regina snorts and smirks at Emma. “Miss me?”

Emma frowns at her, “ _ Of course _ I didn’t miss you. You’re like my mortal enemy, remember? I’m just  _ confused  _ because three weeks ago you were begging me to let you inside my house to talk, and then you  _ disappeared _ .” Regina rolls her eyes and opens her mouth to argue back before she notices the stake in Emma’s hand. 

“What the fuck is that?” she deadpans.

Emma’s brows furrow together and she lowers her hand to look at the stake, holding it out for Regina to see too. “Uh, what’s it look like, Regina? It’s a stake.”

The vampire takes a step closer to Emma. “I know  _ what  _ it is, Em-ma,” she says, enunciating each syllable of her name. “I  _ meant _ , why are you using  _ that  _ stake, and not the stake _ I  _ gave you?”

“Uhh.” The truth is that Emma had forgotten about the stake Regina gave her. At first it was causing her to think entirely too much about the vampire, not that that had really stopped when she tossed the stake under her bed, and not that she would ever tell Regina that. It was bad enough that she had the thought in her own head, she didn’t need to be voicing it out loud.

“Well?” Regina stands arms akimbo, eyes wide with exasperation and disbelief, obviously irritated by Emma’s lack of speed in answering her question, but mostly she just looks offended.

“I’ll be honest, Regina.”  _ Like hell I will _ . “I don’t know?” Emma winces both at how uncertain she sounds and how Regina’s face warps angrily. “Does it really matter? At least I’m armed this time?” Emma wills herself to stop talking because with each uncertainty she expresses, Regina takes a step closer to her. By the time she’s right in front of Emma, she’s all bumpies and teeth, vamp faced out, snarling at Emma.

“I didn’t give you that stake to trick you. It’s not some trap I planted so I could kill you easier. So you  _ could  _ just accept my gift and not be such an ungrateful brat.” 

Emma chuckles nervously and takes a step back, raising her hands in front of Regina just as she takes another step to Emma, and realizing where her hands will end up if she doesn’t move them, Emma yanks them back down to her sides. Regina doesn’t notice. “Wow, personal offense is a good look on you,” Emma attempts to joke, cringing at herself as soon as she says it. 

“I am  _ not  _ offended.”

“Could’ve fooled me.”

“Yeah, well you’re clearly easily fooled, or at least easily confused.” Regina sneers before her face goes hard and apathetic.

Emma blinks. “What’s  _ that  _ supposed to mean?”

“Like you don’t already know,” Regina scoffs, her eyebrows quirking up in challenge, and Emma falters slightly, shaking her head, definitely confused.

“I seriously don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“ _ Of course _ you don’t. Like I said you’re easily confused. You don’t know what you want, and you’re so lost in that limited little mind of yours that you can’t even acknowledge  _ that _ .”

Emma gapes at her in horror, her voice coming out in an embarrassing squeak, “I haven’t talked to anyone about that! How do you even know…” She stops short as Regina blinks at her, suddenly lost. “Oh. You weren’t talking about  _ that _ , you were talking about something else.” Emma’s voice gets quiet as she realizes her misunderstanding, and she feels relieved, but it’s not enough to make her face any less red.

“What did you think I was talking about?” Emma looks away and shrugs, allowing Regina to continue her verbal slaying on Emma. “I was talking about how you denied who you are, and then you accepted it, but you still don’t seem to be all in because it’s  _ weeks  _ later and you  _ still  _ don’t trust your Watcher. And speaking of your Watcher, how the hell can a vampire train you to kill vampires? Quite frankly it’s fucked up, and a bit ridiculous; no wonder you don’t trust her.

And you know what? Speaking of trust, that’s another thing. You’re so easily fooled that I’m surprised you aren’t more quick to trust people.” Regina is pushing Emma’s buttons while she’s just standing there dumbly wondering where this is all coming from but not finding it in her to speak up and ask. “Did you think I was talking about family?”

Emma grits her teeth, starting to get angry, “No.”

“Well then, whatever you thought I was talking about...I guess that’s on you.” 

Emma huffs in frustration, crossing her arms and looking up past Regina. “Are you done?”

Blatantly ignoring Emma, Regina continues, “It’s a bit laughable how long it took for you to even have a Watcher anyway. Over a year,” Regina laughs, “and the Council apparently found it more important to keep me out of this town than make sure that you didn’t destroy anyone’s lives. Unfortunately for them, their efforts were in vain, on all counts. No one came out on to, not  _ you _ , stuck repeating a year in high school at eighteen, and especially not that family of yours, if you could even call them that. If you even know what that means.”

Emma’s eyes snap back to Regina’s. “Take that back.”

Regina raises her eyebrow. “Or what? You’ll slay me? You’ll do no such thing, especially not with that sorry excuse for a stake you have there.” Emma glances down at the stake in her hand, perfectly sturdy and effective, and she decides that if Regina can push her buttons, Emma can push back.

“First of all, if I wanted to kill you, this stake would more than do the job,” Emma quips, starting small. She’s angry enough to aim for the lowest blow so she goes for it, and when she speaks, the tremor in her voice is clear, and Regina’s eyes widen as if surprised that she actually got to Emma. “You have no soul. I may have never had a real family, but at least I’m capable of love. That’s something you’ll never have.”

Emma hardly has time to gauge Regina’s reaction before she finds herself being thrown backwards and landing hard on the ground. She jumps back up in time to grab the arms of the woman now in front of her as she grips Emma’s arms and pushes her into the wall of the crypt behind them. Emma’s fairly certain that in the one moment of pause she has to look, she can see a tear streak down Regina’s face, and she looks in surprise and concern at the vampire before she feels a fist to her face.

Emma hisses, and on instinct, she kicks Regina backwards, tackling her to the ground, stake at Regina’s heart out of habit. The sight makes Emma falter, and she knows she could never kill Regina. Regina looks up at her, eyes more hurt than angry, and Emma looks away, suddenly forgetting the fight and realizing the compromising position they’re in as she is literally straddling the vampire. She feels her face starting to go red just as Regina jerks up one of her legs, sending Emma falling forward, out of balance, and Regina flips her over her head.

Emma’s back hits the ground, and she drops the stake but makes no move to pick it up, even though she has more than enough time to do so before she clambers to her feet. Regina is back on her feet as well, and the two struggle, throwing punches and kicks, Emma’s instinct for self defense kicking in. It’s not until she’s flipping backwards over a headstone and hitting the ground again that she realizes how much pain she’s in. She can taste blood in her mouth.

She’s lying there waiting for Regina to reappear above her and their fight to resume, but she doesn’t. Emma sits up a little, wondering if this is where it ends (because she knows this fight won’t end with anything extreme, like death) when she suddenly hears the sounds of fighting behind her. Immediately curious, she pushes back her pain and stands in time to see Regina being flung backwards by none other than Snow, who turns to Emma, motioning that they’re leaving.

Emma nods, thinking she should move towards her, but instead she finds herself above Regina who’s landed on her back a few feet away from her, offering her a hand up. Regina just scowls at her, standing up on her own, thrusting something towards Emma. She grabs it without thinking and looks down, surprised to see her stake from earlier. “Here’s your precious stake,” Regina grumbles at Emma.

“Are you jealous?” Emma can’t help but tease. Regina just walks off in the opposite direction from where Snow is standing, not answering Emma’s question. 

“Emma!” She turns to see Snow running towards her, eyes full of concern. “Did she hurt you?” She lifts a hand gently to her face, but Emma pulls back.

“I’m fine.” She shrugged, “It’s just Regina.” Snow looks at her, shocked at how casual she is about it, but doesn’t seem to dwell on it. She ushers Emma towards her car outside of the graveyard, telling her that she needs to get Emma sorted.

Emma’s never been to Snow’s house, but she’s hardly surprised to see how not-gloomy it is for a vampire’s home. There are colors everywhere, and the only neutral color Emma can spot is white. She stares in awe at how “Snow” the place is as she’s directed to the couch. Snow sits her down, puts a bottle of water in her hand and then runs off for her first aid kit.

“Why do you even have a first aid kit?” Emma asks as Snow returns, unpacking everything she needs to treat Emma’s wounds, which Emma is sure aren’t that bad. The only thing that really hurts are her feelings. Regina may be her arch nemesis, but that doesn’t give her the right to be such a douche.

Snow cleans the blood off Emma’s face and begins to dab at it with a peroxide soaked cotton ball. Emma winces at the sting. “For this very reason. I know  _ I _ may not need it, but you never know when someone else will. Besides, what kind of teacher would I be if I wasn’t prepared for the worst?” Emma shrugs. “Honestly, Emma, I think the more important question is why in the hell were you out so late alone? You could have gotten yourself killed. I told you not to go out without letting August or I know.” Emma opens her mouth to speak, but Snow cuts her off, “I know you didn’t tell August. He called me worrying about you.”

“It’s really not that big a deal. Regina may be a bitch, but she isn’t going to kill me.” Emma is really certain of that. For one, she still supposedly had to talk to her about something. As for the second thing, Emma couldn’t really explain why she knew Regina wouldn’t kill her, but she felt it. In the same way she knew that Snow wouldn’t kill her even if Emma was the only living creature around for miles and Snow was thirsty and starving for blood, she knew Regina wasn’t going to do it.

“Do you not remember anything I told you a few weeks ago? Or what you read about Regina in my vampire history books? She’s dangerous, Emma. You cannot trust her. I mean, look at what she did to you tonight!” Emma sighs, looking away. “Maybe you want to believe in her, but I just think that this time, it’s a lost cause.”

“I guess.” Emma gives up. Talking about Regina is something she’s bad at because everything about the brunette baffles her. Besides, thinking about her too much makes Emma’s brain go weird, thinking things she doesn’t understand, or even want to understand, and it usually ends in Emma taking a cold shower or going out for a long run. It being past midnight and her being in a rather beat up state, a run is not an option. “Is it cool if I just crash here tonight?”

Snow smiles, “Of course. You’re welcome anytime. Let me just grab you a blanket.” Emma gets settled on the couch while Snow tells her what time she leaves in the morning, an hour so early it makes Emma reconsider staying, but she figures she can deal with that in the morning.

As it turns out, waking up incredibly early isn’t the most difficult part of the day. The worst part is the endless questions. She wakes up in the morning, only five hours after she went to sleep, and trudges into Snow’s bathroom, and she’s not sure what’s more surprising: her reflection in the mirror or the fact that Snow even has a mirror. If she hadn’t read that vampires don’t have reflections, she would have guessed they did, given how perfect Regina looks all the time. How she achieves  _ that  _ without a mirror is beyond her.

She shakes her head, ridding herself of the thought, and takes in her rough appearance. She definitely looks worse than she feels. There’s a nasty black eye obscuring her vision, a cut under her eye that’s big and deep enough for her to wonder why it doesn’t hurt, and another bruise across her cheek that looks to be almost every color of the rainbow. She doesn’t remember it being so bad last night. She wonders what Regina looks like today. Probably perfect.

Her thoughts are suddenly interrupted by Snow’s voice from behind her, nearly giving Emma a heart attack. She jumps and spins around, clutching her hand to her chest, the whole nine yards, “Holy shit! I had no idea you were back there!” Snow chuckles, motioning at the mirror. “Oh. Right. Yeah, why do you even have one of these?”

“In case I have company? I don’t want to look suspicious.”

“Yeah you won’t look suspicious at all when a guest of yours doesn’t see your reflection.”

“This is the only mirror in the house, Emma. It’s not very likely me and a random guest are casually in the bathroom at the same time.”

Emma blinks at Snow, gesturing between Snow and the mirror and herself, “Then what’s happening right now?”

There’s a moment of silence before Snow slowly nods, “Touché. Anyway, I just came in here to tell you that I made coffee. I don’t have much in the way of breakfast foods, but I do have coffee, and you really look like you could use it.” 

Emma snorts, “You’ve got that right.” She follows Snow into the kitchen where she feels immediately better at the smell of coffee. She goes to pour herself a mug and notices that her hand is pretty bruised too, she winces, not at the pain but at the thought of Regina’s face on the receiving end of it. Snow misunderstands. 

“Oh gosh, I didn’t even notice your hand last night!” She runs to get her first aid kit, gently taking Emma’s hand in hers and treating it carefully. “Does it hurt?”

Emma finds herself nodding, too lost in thought to do much else. She doesn’t understand why she feels so bad about harming Regina. It’s not like Regina’s a good person, or really even a person at all. She’s a vampire, and it’s Emma’s birthright to hurt her, isn’t it?

Snow breaks her train of thought once again. “Emma? What’s on your mind? Everything okay in there?” She offers Emma a soft smile that Emma tries to return, but it comes off more as a grimace. 

“Regina.”

Snow looks taken aback but waves her hand, “She can take care of herself. This is going to sound horrible, but for what she did to you, I hope she looks just as bad, if not worse.” Emma just nods, Snow was right about one thing. That did sound horrible.

Snow drops Emma off at home before she heads on to school so that Emma can shower and eat breakfast, and she’s nearly forgotten how bad her face looks until she walks through the kitchen door and comes face to face with August who looks up at her in horror, nearly dropping his bowl of cereal. He recovers enough to set it down but panics all the way over to her. 

“Emma! Oh my god! Snow told me what happened to you, and she said it was bad, but I didn’t think it would be  _ this  _ bad! You look terrible!”

“Wow, thanks, August.” He shoots her a knowing yet still hyper concerned look. “Yeah, yeah, I know, it’s pretty bad. It doesn’t hurt too much though, really.”

August just shakes his head. “I hope you kicked her ass.”

Emma doesn’t respond immediately. She wants to say “I hope I didn’t” but she knows that would be too telling of an answer and that August wouldn’t like it. Emma still doesn’t understand, and if she so much as mentioned any of it to August, she’d have to explain everything in full. Nothing is simple to him, and he doesn’t like exploring everything in less than full detail. “That’s what makes me such a good writer,” he always says. So instead of opening that can of discussion, she just shrugs and heads upstairs to get ready for school.

She considers trying to cover her injuries with makeup to make them look less horrifying, but she decides not to, thinking it won’t help much and it will only make her look more suspicious. The last thing she needs is for anyone to think she’s covering up for some kind of abuse.

So she walks into school like nothing is wrong, and of course everyone acts like everything is wrong. She gets more gaping stares than she can keep track of, and almost everyone is whispering behind her back. The only people who say anything directly to her about her current physical state are Ruby and Neal, who she promises to tell the story to during lunch.

Emma ducks out of study hall to go to the library. She needs to ask Snow about telling Ruby and Neal what’s going on, so they’re on the same page as she and August. As their best friends, they deserve to know. However, she ends up ranting about how high schoolers are stupid and there are all kinds of rumors about Emma circulating and there’s nothing she can do because all people do is whisper when they think she can’t hear them. 

Snow just watches her, amused, until Emma stops and catches her breath. “Sorry,” she mutters. “Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. Well, it kind of is.” She pauses for a moment, nervous about asking for permission to open up about her own life. In some ways it seems ridiculous, but she feels like she’s responsible for helping Snow keep her identity unknown, and she worries that exposing her own secrets will make Snow’s suddenly clear to everyone. “I want to tell Ruby and Neal. You know, about me being the Slayer.” Snow nods in encouragement. “They have a right to know what’s going on, same as August, but I wanted to check with you to make sure that was okay. Obviously I won’t tell them you’re… you know, and we can hide it from the others like we have been from August. They probably won’t catch on if he hasn’t.”

Given the fact that a couple of the books talk about Snow’s story as the vampire Slayer turned vampire, keeping the secret from August hasn’t been easy, but they’ve managed. Emma knows the other two aren’t as excited about research, so that shouldn’t be an issue, but there’s always something. Ruby is so observant, Emma wouldn’t be surprised if she brought it all up to Emma first with all the pieces put together, and Neal, well, she loves the guy, but she isn’t really worried about him.

“Of course, Emma. It’s totally your call. Your circle is pretty small and incredibly loyal, so I’m not worried about anything getting spread around.” Emma smiles, relieved. She’s about to head back to study hall, when a thought suddenly occurs to her.

“Hey, Snow?”

“Yes?”

Emma pauses, taking a deep breath, “I know we have our differences on what happened last night, but I do have to admit that I don’t know how that fight was going to end. You had my back, and you took care of me. I just want you to know that I trust you. I’m sorry it took me so long to get here, but I do.” Her eyes remain glued to the ground the whole time, but she feels confident enough to look back up after she gets it all out.

Snow smiles at her, tearing up. “That really means a lot to me. Thank you for telling me.” She walks to Emma and pulls her into what Emma is positive is the warmest hug ever given by a vampire. She returns the hug before turning back towards the door. “Good luck talking to Ruby and Neal!” 

Emma waves as she leaves and returns to study hall, anxious about the conversation she’s about to have. She makes sure to find August first to fill him in. “We’re telling Ruby and Neal today.”

“About vampires? Right now?”

“Yeah, well, no time like the present, right? They’re worried about me, and what happened. They have a right to know. Plus, I don’t feel right lying to them.” August nods, and the two of them make their way over to the table Ruby and Neal already claimed for them outside, luckily more secluded than most of the other tables. They are staring at her in so much anticipation that Emma can’t help but smile.

Neal is the first to speak. “Okay, I know you’re older than me, but as your honorary big brother, I need you to tell me who did this to you so I can go beat them up, even though I’m pretty sure you’ve already inflicted more damage than I ever could.” Emma smiles at him.

“Neal, of course she did. But seriously, Emma, as your best friend--”

“Hey!” August interrupts, “I’m her best friend!”

Ruby rolls her eyes, “ _ Fine _ . As her best friend  _ who’s a girl _ ,” August nods in approval, “I need to know what bitch did this to you so I can find her and prove that you came out on top. And maybe post a picture of her injured face all over the internet with the caption, ‘don’t mess with Emma Swan.’”

Emma laughs with them for a moment before getting serious. “Okay guys, I appreciate you, but this is really important. There’s a lot you don’t know, but as my best friends, I think you  _ should _ know. It’s gonna sound crazy, but just bear with me.”

Neal chortles, “What, is it something crazy like vampires?” he asks before he’s suddenly belting a full bellied laugh, clearly amused with himself. Ruby laughs a bit with him, and Emma just stares at him dumbstruck. Honestly, she’s surprised she didn’t anticipate the likeliness of this since Neal’s a big goofball whose favorite book is  _ Dracula _ .

When he notices the look on Emma’s face, he stops laughing. “Wait, it’s not vampires is it?”

Emma sucks in a sharp breath through her teeth. “Actually…”

Neal slams both his hands down on the table. “No way. No. Way. No way! You’re serious?!” He stands and throws a fist pump before sitting back down, looking far too hyped and amused. Ruby is just looking between Emma and August in shock.

“You knew about this already, didn’t you?” When August nods apologetically, Ruby looks to Emma. “So, a vampire did that to you? Wouldn’t a vampire just suck your blood and kill you? Or turn you into a vampire?”

“Sire.” Everybody looks to Neal. “Uh, it’s called being sired. Getting turned into a vampire.”

“Okay, anyway,” Ruby continues, “How are you still here? Either it’s a vampire with a strange way of showing generosity or you’re just stronger than we could have anticipated?”

Emma snorts. Both are kind of true, but she’s only here to discuss one of them. “Okay so there’s this whole thing that’s been going on for centuries where one girl is chosen to help save the world from vampires. She gets this super strength and stuff that makes it easier for her to fight vampires, and well…”

“You’re her,” says Ruby.

“Yeah, I’m the Slayer.”

“Slayer! Woah, that’s a seriously rad title. If I could, I would just call you that all the time, but I don’t think that would be a great idea. Wouldn’t want people around here catching on.”

Emma shakes her head. “Yeah, not many people even know what the Slayer is or that vampires are real, but I don’t want to take the chance. Anyway, there’s more…” Ruby and Neal look at her expectantly. “Snow is my mentor.”

“Snow?!”

“Our librarian?”

Emma nods. “Yeah, Snow’s my mentor. Well, she’s called my Watcher. She knows a lot about vampires and she has books and stuff that August and I have been reading. You guys are welcome to look at them too, but it really is important to keep quiet about this, because it’s not just my secret. It’s hers too.”

“Don’t worry, Em. We love Snow, and you obviously. You can trust us.”

“Thanks, Neal. I really do trust you guys. That’s why it’s so important for me to be open with you about this. Keeping you in the dark felt wrong to me, especially with… you know...” Emma rests her chin on the top of her hand and shoots them a half-assed grin, “My face looking like this.”

“Yeah, okay so onto more important things, you still owe us that story.” Ruby reminds her.

Emma sighs, “Yeah, I know.” She takes a deep breath, not even sure where to start. She’s going to try to tell the story as objectively as possible, without revealing too much about Regina, Snow, or Emma’s weird thoughts on the entire dynamic and her even weirder feelings that she can’t seem to shake. “Okay, so there’s this vampire named Regina, and I guess, we’re in some kind of feud? Anyway, I had a pretty grisly run in with her last night. I don’t know how much damage I did, but she was probably the one who came out on top.” All three of her friends are staring at her with concern, but Emma just shrugs. “It’s not a big deal.”

“Not a big deal? Em, she could have killed you!” Ruby screeches, while Neal nods in agreement. “Please be more careful. You make it sound like your ‘feud’ is just a game, but I really don’t think you should think about it like that. She’s a vampire. You can’t trust her.”

Emma opens her mouth to argue back, but she catches herself. Saying ‘you don’t even know her’ would not go over well with her friends, and even if it did, she knows they have a point. “You’re right,” she ends up saying. “Thanks guys, and I promise you I’ll be more careful.”

Suddenly Ruby’s eyes light up, “Hey, what if we came out and helped you?”

“Helped me with what?”

“Duh, hunting vampires,” Ruby says, like it was obvious. Emma is shaking her head immediately as Ruby just continues. “C’mon! We’ll be like a team! You and Snow could teach us basic combat, and we could have your back! So stuff like this won’t happen again.”

“No. No way.”

“Emma, pleeeaase,” Neal whines. “It would be so cool! We trust you to protect us.”

Emma raises her hands with a shake of her head, “You guys want me to protect you so that you can come out and protect me from getting attacked? Your logic is almost as bad as Regina’s.”

“Ooh! Perfect. August can out-logic her, and me and Neal can distract her.” Ruby squeals, excited with her plan. “Or, you know, other vampires too.”

August chips in, “You know, Emma, it’s really not a bad idea. You could use some help sometimes I’m sure.”

All three of them are grinning at her, and she finally groans. “I’ll talk to Snow about it. See what we can do.” They all high five each other, giddy. “But I’m not saying she’ll agree. I doubt she’ll like the idea at all.”

Emma is wrong. Snow loves the idea. She goes all out and plans training periods for the trio, sessions with them  _ and _ Emma, solo training sessions, and research periods, and Emma groans thinking she should have seen this coming.

Their nightly patrols start around the same time that Emma realizes that Regina is AWOL again, and she can’t decide if she’s more worried about Regina’s disappearance or her friends putting themselves in danger to help her slay vampires. It doesn’t help that every time a woman vampire appears, Ruby yells, “Em, is that her?” 

It never is.

August and Emma’s home becomes a safe house, for meetings and trainings, and Marco doesn’t question any of it. He just smiles and makes pizza rolls and offers them juice pouches. He doesn’t seem to think it’s weird that four high schoolers are hanging out with their librarian, and Emma is grateful he doesn’t ask questions. She doesn’t want to bring him into it all unless she has to.

Many nights when her friends patrol with her are uneventful. They follow behind Emma in graveyards, listening out for noises. If anything comes up, August squeals and everyone steps back, letting Emma make the attack, not jumping in unless they need backup. 

Neal decides they all need special skills. Emma’s are obvious, but it turns out that Ruby is really fast, and as she says ‘a great, sexy lure for vampires’ and as much as Emma hates it, she often makes herself bait. August is always the one with the knowledge or the note taking, observing their actions individually or as a team to look out for ways to improve, and Neal is Emma’s right hand man, always one step behind her in case she needs immediate help. Snow doesn’t patrol with them, and she says it’s because she has work to do, but Emma knows it’s really to hide her vampire identity. Fighting brings out her vampire face, and that would be impossible to hide from the others.

One night, Emma is distracted by a noise on one side of the graveyard only to find out it was nothing, turning around in time to see Neal being thrown through the air. She’s pretty sure she’s never been so horrified and worried in her entire life. She turns the vampire into dust before Neal hits the ground, and she tries to insist that they shouldn’t help her anymore, but they don’t listen. She reluctantly agrees to let them continue helping her, on the condition that they don’t stray too far away.

Another night, Ruby doesn’t show up for patrol at all, and while Emma misses her company and help, she’s just happy Ruby stayed out of harm's way. The next day at school, they all make fun of her for the extensive hickies and bite marks she has and doesn’t even try to hide, but all Emma can think is how relieved she is that they’re from some random dude and not from a vampire.

Jokes on Emma though. Again. Two weeks later, it’s the night before the full moon, and to everyone’s surprise, Ruby turns into a werewolf. 

She doesn’t hurt anybody the first night, but they decide not to take their chances, and they lock her up in the library’s random but convenient “book cage” until Ruby thinks she can control it. With the help of Neal’s meditative knowledge (also random and convenient) and August’s research on werewolves, Ruby has it figured out by the third night of her second full moon, more or less.

A few months have gone by, and it’s almost winter. The cold doesn’t stop them from going out patrolling though, and as usual, patrolling doesn’t stop them from their endless piles of homework. Emma thought that being the Slayer and being a high school student would be far too much work for her, but she finds that with help, it isn’t so bad.

One day in November, Ruby comes up to her squealing about a dance. “Emma! The winter formal is coming up and we  _ have  _ to go dress shopping together.”

Emma doesn’t even bother fighting back her groan. “Do I really have to go? I’m not big on dancing, or dates, or dressing up, or any of that.”

“Seriously, Emma? Look, we’ve all been working hard and deserve a break to do something fun, including you,” Emma opens her mouth to argue, but Ruby stops her. “ _ Especially _ you. Please? The guys are going, and I’m going and Snow is even going! She just told me she’s gonna be a chaperone.”

Emma sighs deeply. “I’ll think about it.” Ruby squeals again and hugs her. Her excitement is usually pretty infectious, but Emma suddenly feels so anxious that she can’t find it in her to be excited too. It doesn’t help that for the rest of the week, all she hears about is the winter formal, and all her classmates are talking about one thing in particular that makes Emma feel nauseous: dates.

August is already going with some girl from mathletes who asked him out. Ruby has a list of guys she’s trying to narrow down, and Neal hasn’t found anyone yet. Ruby suggests that Neal and Emma just go together, but they both decline the idea, thinking it would be too weird. Besides, Neal is determined to find himself a date, and Ruby is determined to find Emma one. The only problem is that Ruby seems to know more about Emma than Emma knows about herself, and she’s relentlessly seeking out Emma’s date from the woman community. But Emma’s not having it, and Ruby isn’t giving up.

At every mention of “what about her” or “so, there’s this girl,” Emma just up and leaves. At first she had tried to deny it, telling Ruby that “I’m not interested” or “I don’t want to go to the dance with some girl,” but when she says “Ruby stop, I don’t like girls,” everything just feels wrong. Maybe Emma doesn’t have it all figured out yet, but even the idea that she  _ could _ be lying to her friends doesn’t sit well with her, hence the silent running away. It’s something she’s not talking about, and luckily, no one pushes her to, and eventually Ruby gives up trying to find Emma “a hot lady date.” 

In the end, she decides to go as the seventh wheel with her friends and their dates. Snow is ecstatic: “Great! You can help me chaperone!” to which Emma’s only response is to roll her eyes and make another silent exit.

It’s finally the night of the dance, and everyone is at Emma and August’s place getting ready, except for Snow, who’s already at the school setting everything up. All of them color coordinate, in which they each have their own color. Ruby had made a joke about “gaying it up” with all the colors of the rainbow, which immediately made Emma wish she wasn’t wearing a color and had black or something instead. 

August has a black tux with a dark blue vest and bow tie, while his date has a complimentary long light blue sequined empire dress. Neal has a yellow vest and bow tie with his black tux, his date with a simple but formal matching yellow sweetheart dress. Ruby is going in for the kill with a hot pink sleeveless bodycon dress, her date in a white tux and a black vest and bow tie, opting out of the color. Snow picked up the slack and found a chaperone-appropriate green dress. Emma’s choice was a bright red A-line dress with an illusion collar, cap sleeves, and a subtle sparkle. 

“Damn, Em. You look so hot, maybe you’ll pick up a girl tonight,” Ruby teases her, stopping her before she can walk away. “Sorry, that’s the last one, I promise.” Emma just stares at her, not really believing it before turning to walk off again. “If you need to talk, you know I’m here for you!” Ruby calls out after her. Emma just rolls her eyes, leaving her friends with the classic dance-date ritual of putting on each other’s boutonnieres and corsages.

When they arrive at the school, the gym is hardly recognizable with all the decorations. It looks impressive, and there’s definitely a romantic vibe. If Emma didn’t already know who decorated it, she would have guessed it on the first try. Snow sees them enter, and she skips over excitedly, tugging Emma around to show her all of her hard work.

It isn’t long before the gym is full of music and people, and Emma spends most of the time just standing with Snow by the wall, every now and again making it clear to her that she is  _ not _ chaperoning, and if anyone starts making out or humping on the dance floor, she’s going to pretend she doesn’t see it, and leave it for Snow to handle. Fortunately that doesn’t happen.

The event is nearly halfway through when Snow starts to pester Emma about going out there for a dance. She gestures at the array of people not dancing that she could ask, thankfully leaving gender out of the equation, and tells Emma to go for it. She doesn’t, but Snow keeps trying. Eventually Emma groans. “Snow, I don’t want to dance. Everyone is lucky I even showed up tonight. So, just… okay?” She sulks off for something to drink, crossing the dance floor to get there, and she’s surprised when someone suddenly grabs her hand and spins her around, placing one hand on her shoulder. Emma instinctively puts a hand on the waist in front of her before looking up to see who is tricking her into dancing.

As her eyes meet the ones in front of her, her breath catches in her throat, and she’s pretty sure her heart stops beating. The other woman smirks, and Emma is convinced she picks up on the infrequency. “Regina.”

“Miss Swan.” Regina’s eyes take in Emma’s dress, and while Regina isn’t looking, Emma allows herself to ogle the brunette. Everything about her is immaculate, from her hair to her makeup to her dress. It’s clear she went all out. The long sheath dress looks gorgeous on her, off shoulder sleeves exposing her neck and collarbone, sparkles from the dress catching brilliantly in the light. Emma’s transfixed on the shape of Regina’s hips when she realizes the dress isn’t black, but a deep, royal purple. She’s not sure if her mouth was already open, but she’s sure it is now at the realization that Regina completes Ruby’s gay wardrobe rainbow. She brings her eyes back up to Regina’s when she hears her chuckle. “Like my dress?”

“It’s purple.” Emma blurts out.

Regina squints at her. “So?”  _ So it isn’t intentional. She doesn’t know about the rainbow. Of course she wouldn’t know about the rainbow or any of Ruby’s gay-ass comments or my apparently gay-ass thoughts. Everything is totally fine _ , Emma slightly panics to herself. Her hand is still on Regina’s waist and Regina’s hand is still in hers, and when the next song plays, slower than the last, Regina doesn’t wait for Emma’s answer to ask her the next question, “Are you going to dance with me or not?”

“Uhh...” is all Emma can manage to say while she stands there trying to figure out what step to take first, when Regina rolls her eyes and starts them off for her. Emma clears her throat and meets Regina’s eyes, surprised she doesn’t look angry. She looks almost complacent, and Emma thinks she ought to smile at her or tell her she looks beautiful, but all she can do is look confused. “Why are you here?”

“Remember when I said I wanted to talk?” Regina’s voice comes out soft and direct, her expression is totally unreadable and Emma is sure nothing Regina could say would surprise her simply because she has zero expectations.

Emma swallows before pointing out the obvious. “Yeah, but then you disappeared, only to reappear and insult me and beat me up, and then disappear again, for even longer.”

Regina looks almost regretful for a moment. “Yes,” she mutters, eyes glazing over. She takes her hand off of Emma’s shoulder to lightly trace the scar under Emma’s eye, and Emma tries not to react to her touch, but a shiver goes down her spine and she shudders just enough for Regina to snap out of her reverie and place her hand back onto Emma’s shoulder. “I didn’t intend to hurt you.”

With a scoff, Emma replies, “Is that supposed to be an apology?”

Regina shrugs, looking away uncomfortably before her eyes land on something across the room and find their way back to Emma’s, eyes surprisingly bright. “We should get a picture.”

“Uh, will you even show up in a picture? Also why would we get a picture together? That’s kind of weird, don’t you think?”

Snorting, Regina links her arm with Emma’s and drags her across the room. “Of course, I’ll show up in a picture, you idiot. Just not in mirrors or windows or… spoons. You know, things of that nature.”

“Wow, when I slayed my first vampire, I used a spoon.” Regina stops walking to stare incredulously at Emma. “What? I’m serious! It was all I had. Anyway, you didn’t answer my second question.” When Regina resumes walking without answering, Emma asks again, “Why are we getting a picture together.”

“I’m your date,” Regina says, like it’s obvious.

This time, Emma is the one to stop walking. “Woah. No. No. No no no. No! You are  _ not  _ my date.”

“Wow, that’s a lot of ‘no’s.’ Tell me, if I’m not your date, then why were you just dancing with me?” Regina raises her brow as a challenge while Emma gapes at her in horror. Regina snorts. “You don’t want to be seen with me because I’m evil, is that it?”

“Uh, Regina, no one here even knows who you are.”

“Oh, right. Is it because I’m older?”

“You really don’t  _ look  _ much older.”

“So not age. Hmm. Oh! Is it because I’m a woman?” Emma doesn’t even try to stop the blush that takes over her entire face, but she does turn her face away from Regina, only making her embarrassment more obvious. “Wow, looks like I touched a nerve.”

“Look, if you drop it forever, I’ll take the stupid picture with you. Just please stop talking about it. I get more than enough of that from Ruby.”

“Deal.” They get their picture, and Emma is one hundred percent sure it’s the most awkward thing she’s ever seen. Regina has her arms wrapped around Emma’s waist from behind, chin on her shoulder, smiling a million dollar smile, and Emma is standing there, arms out almost in a shrug like she doesn’t know what to do with them, eyeing Regina with one eyebrow raised and a confused grimace. 

Regina half smiles at it, “I would say it really captures  _ us _ , but I think I look too happy and not irritated enough.” Emma rolls her eyes, ignoring the flip her stomach does when Regina says ‘us.’ “We’re going to dance again, right?”

“Why not?” Emma deadpans. “It’s not like anything else makes sense anymore.” She lets Regina lead her back to the dance floor, where she rests both her hands on Emma’s shoulders, almost cupping them around the back of her neck. Emma places both her hands on Regina’s waist like an awkward middle school boy having his first slow dance. Since the night is coming to an end, most of the songs have just become slow and relaxing. Emma’s afraid to say anything for a while so the two just dance in silence until Emma remembers. “Didn't you want to talk to me about something?”

Regina hesitates, looking away from Emma before nodding her head. “I didn’t tell you sooner because I didn’t think you were ready for it, but honestly, I don’t think you ever will be.”

“Then why do you  _ need  _ to tell me? Why did you disappear?”

Regina shrugs, looking down. “It just seemed easier that way. But the more I think about it, the more I think you have a right to know, and if you’re going to hear it from anyone, I want you to hear it from me.”

“Then just tell me. I don’t want to play games with you, Regina. If you have something to say, just say it.” Emma’s beginning to grow frustrated at the crypticism. “You’re already my arch nemesis, and we have an awkward prom picture together. I mean honestly, how much worse could it get?”

“You’d be surprised,” she says, stalling again. 

“Regina,” Emma warns.

“Alright, fine!” Regina eyes the space around them cautiously before looping her arms around Emma’s neck and pulling her closer. It’s so sudden that Emma can’t stop from sucking in a harsh breath of air, and it isn’t until she can feel Regina’s breath on her ear that she realizes she’s still holding her own in. It comes out shaky and nervous. “I know who you are,” Regina whispers.

“What?” Emma breathes, totally overwhelmed by the sound of Regina’s voice, her body inches away, physical in a way she’s never experienced, and the weight of heavy words she hasn’t even heard yet.

“You’ve been in the foster system since nearly the day you were born, left outside a group home in Phoenix by someone who was never identified, wrapped in only a yellow hospital blanket, with a tag containing only your birthday.” Emma staggers backwards for a moment before Regina’s arms wrap tighter around her. Regina looks at her, eyes pleading. Emma stays frozen, eyes wide.

“How do you know that?” Emma mutters, almost inaudible even to her.

“I was there.” Regina doesn’t wait for Emma’s reaction before continuing. “You are the product of true love, the spawn of a vampire with a soul and a mortal man, a vampire Slayer by right  _ and  _ by blood.”

“But, that would mean…”

Regina says it before Emma can finish thinking it. “You’re the daughter of Snow.”

Emma feels the room start to spin, and her grip on Regina’s waist tightens as she staggers forward. Regina must sense that Emma is about to drop because she moves her arms from around Emma’s neck to hold her by the arms, keeping her at eye level, seeking out Emma’s eyes with her own.

She locks eyes with Regina long enough to see panic and concern before Snow appears beside them, eyes full of tears and so many mixed emotions, her hand on Emma’s arm just above Regina’s. 

That’s when everything goes black.

Emma wakes up in her bed at home, dressed in pajamas, and for a moment, she wonders if she dreamed the entire night, but then she sits up and sees her dress hanging from her closet door in front of her. She scrambles out of bed and down the stairs to find August sitting at the kitchen island drinking a coffee. He jumps up when he spots her. 

“Emma. How are you feeling?”

“What the hell happened last night?” Emma asks as she makes her way to the coffee maker. “I don’t remember getting home or anything”

“What’s the last thing you remember?” August asks her with caution.

Emma racks her brain, trying to pull anything forward. She remembers Regina showing up, she remembers their awkward prom picture, she remembers the way Regina’s body felt in her hands as they danced together, she remembers Regina not wanting to tell her something, and as soon as Emma remembers what Regina told her, she nearly chokes on her coffee.

“What? What is it?”

“Regina was there. We danced together.” She leaves it at that, not telling August anything else. Not that she could. She’s positive he isn’t ready for a bombshell like that, much less the bombshell that Snow is actually a vampire.  _ Snow _ . Fully recalling her last memory, finding out that Snow is actually her mother, Emma forces herself to sit down before she blacks out again. “What do you remember?”

August blows out a puff of air, shaking his head. “Not very much. Probably not enough to fill in all the pieces, but enough to make some more sense of it for you.” Emma nods at him to continue. “I didn’t see Regina there at all. By the time I came into everything, I saw Snow ushering you to a table. You looked like you were going to pass out. Snow told me to get you some water, so I did, and when I came back you just kept saying ‘I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it,’ and Snow was crying, like barely holding herself together. She said, ‘Emma, please’ and grabbed your hand, and you freaked out. We had to run after you. You were pacing in the foyer, hyperventilating. Snow ran over to you just in time because you completely passed out. She saved you from hitting the ground.

“I helped her carry you to the car before we came back inside so I could let the others know you were okay, and so that Snow could get permission from the other chaperones to leave. We were all worried about you. Still are. I’ll have to text everyone so they know you’re fine.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Emma tries to convince herself. “How did I get here? And like this?” She gestures at her pajamas.

August laughs. “It wasn’t me if that’s what you’re worried about. I just helped Snow carry you inside and upstairs. She asked me if I thought you would be mad if she went ahead and changed you into pajamas. We had tried to wake you up just enough that you could do it yourself, but we had no luck. Neither of us wanted to leave you for the night still in your dress, so I told her it would be fine. So, if it isn’t, you can be mad at me, not her.”

“No, that makes sense. I appreciate it,” Emma’s voice comes out soft. “So, um. Where’d Snow go? Did she say anything to you?”

“She just cried a lot. Pretty much nonstop, but it wasn’t always a big cry, you know? Mostly it was just rolling tears. When she changed you into your pajamas and got you settled in bed, I left. I came back about thirty minutes later to check in, and Snow was gone.”

Emma sighs heavily. “Thanks August.” She gets up to leave, she really needs to find Snow to thank her and to apologize. She may not have been in her best state of mind last night, but she still might’ve hurt her feelings. Besides, there’s an important conversation they need to have, and this time Emma doubts it can be put off.

“Wait,” August grabs Emma lightly by the elbow. “What was Regina doing there?”

“Nothing bad. She just wanted to talk to me. She dressed up and everything,” She zones out for a moment, remembering the purple before catching herself. “It was nothing.”

August looks at her skeptically, but seems to accept her answer against his better judgement. “If you say so. Just remember that I’m here for you.”

“Thanks, August.” Emma smiles at him as she walks past, going to prepare herself for what’s about to be a presumably long day.

As Emma walks to Snow’s house, all she can do is feel guilty about her constant state of denial. She had denied that she was the Slayer and had almost gotten herself killed, had hurt Regina’s feelings somehow (if she even has those), and had let Snow down. She had and continues to actively deny other things, and in doing so was and continues to be an emotional masochist to herself as well as a frustrating pain in the ass to her friends. And last night she had expressed denial about being the child of her own mother and had probably devastated the woman in the process. But Snow is an understanding person. Surely it’s a lot for her to wrap her mind around too.

She finally makes it to Snow’s house. At first she knocks. Then she knocks again. After she knocks three more times with no answer, she goes to open the door, surprised to find it unlocked. Slowly creeping the door open, Emma slips in, careful not to let any sunlight into the vampire’s home, just in case. “Snow?” She calls out. No answer. 

Emma wanders her way through the house, but she doesn’t find Snow anywhere, or even a sign of her. She decides to try the library. It probably should have been her first choice anyway.

Unfortunately, since it’s Sunday, the school is locked up. Emma groans, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” She makes her way around the building to where the back entrance to the library is. The door is propped open, which Emma takes to mean as a sign that Snow is there, so she smiles as she pulls the door open. “Snow?” No answer, again. 

She looks in the her office, and it looks like no one has been there for several hours. If Snow were just a regular high school librarian, if she were just human, Emma might not be worried. But she’s not just just a regular librarian, she’s not just human. It’s daylight, and she’s not in one of the three places Emma usually sees her, the third being Emma’s house.

Just in case, Emma wanders the dark halls of the school, barely lit by the evening sunlight beaming through. She looks everywhere she has access to, which is nearly everywhere as the buildings are all connected. When she gets to the gym, she notices all the decorations are gone, dumped in trash bags still scattered across the floor. The sight of them makes Emma’s heart inexplicably heavy, and she slumps into the wooden bleachers to the side hardly able to believe what had occurred in this room less than twenty four hours ago.

By the time Emma walks out of the school, after checking the library one more time and still not finding Snow, it’s dark outside. She pulls out a stake from her bookbag, trying not to worry too much, and she notices that the stake is Regina’s. She brushes her thumb over the carving of the crown and Regina’s initials as she walks. For some reason it comforts her.

Emma considers seeking out Regina, who might have the answers Emma needs, but she also considers that maybe whatever Regina knows, Emma won’t want to. Plus, there’s the tiny detail that Regina is Emma’s kidnapper, which honestly is something else entirely that makes Emma’s head spin for reasons she can’t afford to get into until she can talk things out with Snow. 

At the last minute, Emma decides to do a quick patrol, just in case anything is going on. Sundays seem to be a lazy day for vamps, but given the circumstances and Emma skipping out on patrol last night, she figures it’s best not to risk it. An hour or two won’t hurt. 

She goes to the graveyard closest to her house and the school, mostly because it’s convenient, but also because this is where she’s run into Regina both times she’s seen her in a graveyard. About ten minutes in, she’s heard nothing, seen nothing, and lets herself get distracted once again by the stake in her hands, thoughts torn between worrying about Snow and being cautious about Regina. Her moments with Regina yesterday had been so unusual, and Emma thinks she can be sure that Regina won’t hurt her, but after finding out about Emma and Regina’s  _ real  _ first meeting, Emma is second guessing herself.  _ Nothing makes sense anymore _ , she thinks, repeating herself from last night.

She’s considering the distress in Regina’s eyes before she blacked out at the dance when suddenly something hits her from behind, knocking her to the ground. Emma groans. Regina sure has a way of making herself known. And how does she always seem to appear when Emma’s thinking about her? She pulls herself to her feet, brushing grass off her front. “C’mon Regina, I don’t have time for--” Emma stops short when she realizes that it isn’t Regina in front of her.

It’s Snow.

Emma has to do a double take when she lays eyes on the vampire in front of her. She’s seen Snow’s vampire face before, but it had always been in a circumstance where Snow was fighting to protect Emma, when she was wearing pink sweaters with the top button closed or a yellow floral dress, when she was smiling. Emma always thought it was silly how strange it was to see a vampire who was smiling so wholly, happiness reaching her eyes, even when she was all vamped out. It isn’t like that this time.

Snow isn’t smiling. She’s sneering. There are no happy bright colors, only black with a hint of blood red. Her face is vampiric, her normally bright eyes are yellow and dark, and the glare they’re casting at Emma makes her shudder. When she does, Snow’s sneer grows as she takes slow, intentional steps towards Emma.

“Snow?” Emma finally manages to say. She’s torn between laughing at Snow’s new act, and the inherent, unshakeable panic that this isn’t just an act.

“What’s the matter? Don’t recognize me?” Emma shrinks back. She isn’t expecting Snow’s voice to be any different. The usually chipper edge is gone, replaced by a vocal scowl. “You wouldn’t, would you. You only knew the too-happy, too-chirpy, too-kind bookworm Mary Margaret.” She spits out her own name like poison.

“I knew you as Snow,” Emma sasses back, promptly receiving a hard slap across the face that sends her staggering backwards. She looks up at Snow in shock. “What’s wrong with you?”

Snow scoffs at her. “Nothing… anymore.” She continues pacing towards Emma, backing her into an eventual corner. “I’m right where I want to be, all thanks to you. Funny. I’m also thinking that you’re somehow to blame for all of this. And even if you’re not, I still think you deserve to suffer.” 

Emma shakes her head. Something has to be wrong. “This isn’t who you are.”

Another scoff. “And what do you know?” 

“You…” Snow is looking at her with so much disdain that Emma hardly knows where to start. Between the obvious hatred Snow seems to have now and the fact that just last night she learned that Snow is her mother, it all seems surreal. “You’re my mother.”

“Yes. And? Your point?”

“My point?”

“Yes, your point. Why the fuck should I care?”

This time Emma is the one scoffing. “You should care because that’s what you do. You’re my Watcher and my teacher and my friend, and apparently my mother! I don’t know what your problem is, but you need to cut it out. This isn’t funny anymore, Snow.”

It’s only seconds later and Emma is being kicked into the air, smashing hard into a headstone a few feet away, flipping over it and landing hard on her back. She’s in so much pain suddenly that she feels like she can’t move. 

Snow hovers over her, a grin more evil than Regina’s plastered to her face. “Don’t talk back to your mother, Emma.” Snow cackles down at her before resting the toe of her boot against Emma’s neck, not pressing down, but keeping it positioned in such a way that Emma knows she could kill her with just one step.

Emma flinches slightly, trying to remain calm, or to at least look unafraid. Deep down, she is in total fear for her safety, imagining that the woman who gave her life is about to take it away. “Regina told me that I was the product of--”

“Regina is full of shit,” Snow spits, cutting Emma off. “She’s going to suffer too. I’ll get my revenge. Just you wait.” She moves her foot from Emma’s throat and begins retreating, allowing Emma space to try and stand up. She manages, but she’s in a lot of pain. The minute she’s on her feet, Snow is kicking her back down again, and Emma props herself against the headstone, too tired to try again. “I won’t kill you tonight, because you saved me from the hell I was in. But nevertheless, you’ll keep trying to make me good, to hold me back from my true potential.” 

“I- I don’t understand.”

Snow walks a few feet away before turning to look back at Emma, that same sneer smeared across her face. “You’ll try to save me. And I just can’t let you do that.”

Emma watches her walk away, not taking her eyes off of her until she can’t see so much as a shadow. She grips Regina’s stake in her hand, searching with her fingers for the engraving, feeling more alone than ever, at a total loss for what to do.


	4. without passion, we’d truly be dead

Needless to say, Emma doesn’t get much sleep that night. She keeps her windows locked, curtains drawn, covers wrapped around her so tight that she should be sweating, but she can’t seem to stop shivering.

She had all but run home after finally convincing herself it was safe to get up and move. It wasn’t the smartest idea given the pain she was in, but her desperation to remove herself from the outside world and seek comfort in her bed drove her. She bypassed August and Marco, skipping dinner, skipping a shower, stripping down and climbing into bed.

She had tossed and turned all night, replaying the scene in her head. She couldn’t make sense of any of it. Something had happened, but Emma has no idea what it could have been. She considers talking to August, but she knows she can’t do that. Besides, he wouldn’t be of much help. She thinks she ought to ask Regina. Regina who knows some of the missing pieces from last night, who knows more about vampires than Emma or even from Snow’s books.

_ Snow’s books _ . Emma chastises herself for not snatching them up while she could. She needs to get her hands on those before Snow can take them. If something really is wrong with her, Emma can’t lose her only direct source of information.

She manages to doze off a little here and there, but every time, she’s awoken by some kind of nightmare where Snow is killing her. The first time, it’s set during that night, Snow taking that extra step and crushing Emma’s neck. The second dream, she gives birth to Emma, kisses her on the head, and then holds a pillow to her face until she stops breathing. In the third, Snow decides to turn Emma into a vampire. In the fourth, Snow is torturing Regina relentlessly, until she sets her on fire. It’s after that dream that Emma gives up on sleeping.

She doesn’t leave the house until the sun is up, and when she gets to the school, she walks tentatively to the library, doubting to see Snow there but worrying nonetheless. She wanders through the swinging doors, through the shelves, not daring to speak. She doesn’t find anyone. Snow’s office is open so she moves towards the doorway. She notices the fresh coffee in the pot and her heart starts to pound when she hears a noise behind her. She swings around, suddenly on offense, expecting to see Snow. She’s surprised to see it’s a totally normal looking middle aged guy.

He grins at her, putting his arms up in defense. “Woah, woah, you’re fine.” He chuckles, and it’s somehow soft and rough at the same time. His smile meets his eyes, but despite that he still looks sad like he’s been through a lot. The look he’s giving Emma is so intense she feels the need to look away. “My name’s David. I’m the substitute librarian.”

Emma blinks at him. “Substitute?”

“Yeah, the school called me yesterday, asking me to fill in. I might be here for the rest of the school year, depending.” David isn’t grinning anymore, but his sad eyes are still smiling somehow. Emma doesn’t know what to make of it.

“Oh,” is all she says.

“Sorry,” David shakes his head, “your name is?”

“Emma Swan, uh, I’m kind of Snow’s assistant. Or I guess I’m the librarian assistant technically. Sixth period.”

David smiles at her again, bright and full, holding his hand out to her. “It’s great to meet you, Emma. I look forward to working with you.”

“You too, Mr… uh…” Emma trails off.

“Nolan. But really, you can just call me David if you want.”

“David. Okay.” She eyes Snow’s vampire books, hidden on a low shelf in the corner of the book cage, wondering how she’s going to get them out without making David suspicious. He seems nice enough, but he doesn’t need to get wrapped up in the crazy vampire/ Slayer drama that consumes Emma’s life. He doesn’t need to know about this stuff. He seems like a good guy and deserves to be able to sleep at night without having horrific nightmares about vampires or death or the kidnapping of babies.

All day, Emma finds herself frantic. She’s sneaking books one by one out of the library, making up weak excuses to David, who just keeps smiling softly at her like she could do no wrong. She’s constantly thinking about what she needs to do to protect herself and her friends, and knowing that her main source of help is her ultimate enemy, she’s torn on who to ask for help. August or Regina. August or Regina.

During study hall, she makes a pros and cons list. August is her best friend and her brother, he’s super trustworthy, very smart, and can do research like no one she’s ever met, but he doesn’t know anything about Snow’s personal life which would leave him stunned and several steps behind Emma in the process of figuring out what’s happened to her. Regina would know more about what could have happened to Snow as well as provide information Emma’s missing from the night of the dance, but she’s untrustworthy, has tried to kill Emma, kidnapped her as a baby, makes Emma feel more confused than anyone she’s ever met, hates Snow, and probably doesn’t want to help her. By the end of study hall, she’s even further away from making any kind of plan, so she gives up and goes to lunch.

Emma is surprised to see David standing at their table, laughing with the others. He smiles at Emma when she walks up, squinting his eyes in the sunlight. “You’ve got some cool friends, Emma. They were just telling me about how much they love hanging out in the library. At least I know it won’t always be empty,” he says before waving. “Anyway, I’ve got to go get some stuff together. Hope to see more of you guys soon. See you next period, Emma.”

As soon as he’s out of earshot, Ruby giggles. “Man, he is so  _ hot _ .”

Neal snorts, “I mean, sure, but Snow is hotter.”

“Yeah but you prefer women, so you’re totally biased!”

“Yeah, well I could say the same about you!”

“Fine, you’re right. Emma, what do you think? Who’s hotter?” Emma nearly gags on her water, eyes going wide at the thought of Ruby’s question. 

“Gross!” she blurts out, and Ruby raises an eyebrow suspiciously. Emma can’t even consider answering. For one, she hardly knows David and doesn’t feel comfortable commenting about him like that. Besides, she’s having this whole man-related conflict (very serious gay panic) that she doesn’t even want to think about, but she sure as hell wouldn’t call Snow hot. I mean, she’s very beautiful, but that’s her  _ mother _ .

“Damn, Em. I know David is old enough to be your father, but he looks good for his age.” Emma doesn’t answer, hoping that the whole conversation will drop soon. It does. She zones out as her friends talk about the dance and how much fun they had. Neal asks Emma if she’s okay after what happened, and Emma just nods, pretty sure that they know even less than August. There’s no point in talking about it. 

“I hope Snow’s okay,” Neal mutters. They all nod in agreement. Emma manages to avoid sharing any details about the night of the dance, but she’s sure Ruby asks her questions she doesn’t hear and wouldn’t care to answer anyway.

She gets to the library early before sixth period, and David isn’t there. She takes the opportunity to sneak out the remaining three books, but as she walks out to hide them in her locker, David comes through the door, and they nearly collide. “Oh, hey, Emma. You’re early.”

“Uh, yeah.” Emma walks back into the room, putting her bookbag on one of the tables, figuring she can just stay and worry about the books after class. “What do you have planned for today? Anything?”

David shrugs. “I was hoping you could help me organize her office a little. Since you know how she kept everything sorted and where things go. Wouldn’t want to mess that up.”

“Of course,” Emma nods, and she immediately goes into the office and starts sorting some loose papers scattered across the desk, while David sits in what Emma calls ‘her seat.’ This is how they spend the period, Emma cleaning up exactly how she’s seen Snow do a hundred times before, David asking her random ‘get-to-know-me’ questions about her life and her interests. It’s kind of nice, but Emma is grateful when the bell rings. She’s restless, and she’s hoping that gym will help fix that.

It doesn’t.

Of all the days Leroy could have picked, he chose today to have a lecture class on weightlifting. Emma spends the whole time reading over her pros and cons list, not even bothering to pretend to pay attention. When class finally ends and Leroy announces that they’ll use the equipment tomorrow, Emma still hasn’t reached a decision.

She stuffs as many of Snow’s books in her bookbag as she can before trudging home. She drops those books off and runs back to the school for the rest. It takes three trips back and forth, almost two hours of her time, and it’s not the most fun she’s ever had, running around in cold weather with loads of books, but it keeps her distracted well enough. When all the books are stuffed securely in a corner of her closet, she sets off one last time to Snow’s house before it gets dark so she can get her hands on those books as well. The Snow she’s come to know and love won’t mind, even if the evil one does.

She somehow knows that Snow won’t be there before she arrives, but she’s cautious enough anyways, just in case, as she slowly sneaks into the woman’s home. Already the air is starting to smell kind of stale from inactivity. She goes straight to where the books are, and fills up her bookbag one last time. There are several extras, so she picks up a tote bag Snow has nearby that reads, ‘it’s not hoarding if it’s books,’ and she chuckles to herself wistfully before tossing the bag over her shoulder and heading out the door, looking back one last time. “I’ll save you, Mom.”

When she gets home, August is in the living room watching TV. He smiles and waves at her as she walks in, and she stops. Something about the way he’s lying there, all August and goofy and cute, legs propped out in front of him on the couch, phone lying on his chest, lips moving in time to quote the episode of  _ Star Trek: The Next Generation _ he loves so much, wearing his comfy pants, makes Emma realize immediately. 

She chooses Regina. 

August sits up, suddenly noticing Emma standing there staring at him with her mouth hanging open. “Emma? What’s the matter?”

Emma blinks, snapping out of it. She looks back at August and closes her mouth. “I need to find Regina.” She says it more as a confirmation for herself than an admission to him, but it comes out as both. August immediately shakes his head in response.

“No, Emma, come on. You don’t need to bring her into this. There’s nothing she knows that we can’t figure out together. She tried to kill you remember?”  _ And she kidnapped me from my parents and put me into foster care _ , Emma thinks. But for some reason, all of that just makes her want Regina’s help even more.

“Technicality?” Emma tries, but August gives her the disapproving look she’d been expecting. “Okay, look, I know she isn’t the most trustworthy of people, but I want to see the good in her. Besides, I really want answers, and I really believe she can help me.”

“ _ Can _ help you or  _ will  _ help you?”

“Both,” Emma says confidently. August opens his mouth to argue, but Emma is already making her way up the stairs. She isn’t in the mood. Besides, part of her choosing to go to Regina instead of August is being able to protect him and keep him in the dark for as long as possible. If she wanted to open up to him, she would go to him for help, but she’s choosing Regina.

The only problem with choosing Regina is that she has no idea how or where to find her. The only times she’s seen her, Regina has been the one to find Emma, but Emma is confident that she’ll find Regina. Somehow. She starts sifting through some of Snow’s books, looking at the index under keywords “Regina,” “Mills,” and “Storybrooke,” trying to find something that makes sense. She notices that in one book, both “Mills” and “Storybrooke” appear on the same page. She turns to it immediately.

She finds both keywords on the same sentence of a photo caption:  _ Henry Mills, husband of Cora Mills, is buried in Storybrooke, Maine, his hometown, in a plot near where his parents are buried _ . The picture is of a crypt.

Next, she turns to the internet, searching where to find Henry Mills’s crypt, grateful that it’s actually in Storybrooke, in the graveyard near her house, and not very difficult to find. The website suggests a grave-finder app, which Emma thinks is the most morbid thing she’s ever heard, but she downloads it anyway. Can’t hurt.

Emma grabs her jacket and the stake Regina gave her and heads back downstairs, where August is still watching  _ Star Trek _ . She waves at him on her way out, but he calls after her. Heaving a sigh, she walks backwards until she’s in the room again. “What?”

“I’m not gonna stop you, if that’s what you’re worried about.” Emma looks away guiltily. “I’m just worried you’re gonna get hurt. I don’t trust Regina at all, and I know I’ve never met her, but I don’t think I like her. I know you want to believe in her, but just because Snow’s on sabbatical doesn’t mean you need someone extra helping you.”

“Sabbatical?”

“Yeah, I asked David about Snow after school. He didn’t tell you she was on sabbatical?”

“Uh…”

“Yeah, that’s why he’s there. Anyway, I just want you to be safe out there. Promise me you’ll call if anything starts going wrong. Unless you want me to come with you…?”

“No,” Emma says too hastily. “No, you know it’s gonna be okay. I can handle myself.” August nods, eyes filled with concern. “I promise I’ll call though, but I don’t think I’ll need to.” She waves and walks back towards the door, and he waves back, letting her go.

Whatever feelings she has about Regina are complicated, problematic even, but the more she thinks about getting Regina’s help, the more she realizes that it’s not  _ just _ about Regina’s help, it’s also about her safety. Snow wants to hurt Regina just like she wants to hurt Emma, and Emma can’t let that happen. For one, Emma is determined to save Snow from herself, and she’s determined to do it before Snow kills anyone. Her sunshine and rainbows Watcher wouldn’t feel too good about having killed someone, even if that someone is Regina. And second, well, Emma doesn’t want Regina to die. For reasons. 

Ultimately, Emma believes she’s made the right choice, and as she walks towards the graveyard to find Henry Mills’s crypt, that’s all she allows herself to think about: finding Regina and asking for her help.

She uses the morbid grave locator app, which turns out to be unnecessary. Henry Mills’s crypt is probably the largest one in the graveyard, and since the graveyard isn’t  _ that  _ big, Emma spots it almost immediately. 

Determined, Emma slips her phone in her back pocket and marches towards the crypt, but stops short the minute she sees the door being yanked open. Regina emerges from the door, turning around to close it again, not noticing Emma despite her close proximity, and giving her a great view of her leather clad ass, not that Emma takes advantage of the view.

When Regina spins around to face the blonde, Emma’s eyes snap right back up to hers. The lack of smirk Regina has on her face gives Emma a sense of relief, thinking that maybe the vampire doesn’t notice where Emma’s eyes had been just seconds before. However, the look of surprise on Regina’s expression flickers to something of panic before becoming unreadable as she looks at Emma before retreating down the few stairs of the crypt. Once she reaches the bottom, she doesn’t move any closer to Emma. “Miss Swan. What the hell are you doing here? You should have waited for me to come to you, idiot. How do you even know where I live? Did you come here to fight? Do you at least have the stake I gave you?” 

Emma just stands there dumbly, not sure what’s going on. “Uh…” She tries to gauge what kind of emotion Regina is putting off, but she can’t place it.

“Moron,” Regina mutters, a last minute add on. Emma shakes her head.

“Okay, what? Are you  _ trying  _ to make me mad? If you are, it isn’t working.” Regina blinks at her, still remaining unreadable. “Look, I didn’t come here to fight you.”

“You didn’t?” Regina asks, evidently surprised.

“No, I came to ask for your help. And by the way, yes, I do have the stake you gave me. It’s literally the only one I carry around now,” Emma admits, cursing the blush she’s sure appears across her face.  _ Thank god it’s dark _ .

“Wait. You need my help?” 

“Yes? Why do you sound so surprised?”

For a moment, Regina looks really embarrassed, and it takes her a while before she looks hesitantly back up at Emma. “I thought you came here to fight me.” Her voice comes out in nearly a whisper. Emma furrows her brows together and cocks her head, prompting Regina to continue. “You just found out that  _ I’m _ the reason you were raised without a family. The reason why your life has been the way it is, in foster care, going from home to home. I took you away from your parents… you don’t hate me?” 

Emma sighs, taking a step towards Regina. “Honestly, I’m feeling a lot of things right now, and I wasn’t sure if I should even come to you for help. But no, I don’t hate you. It would have been great if you hadn’t have kidnapped me, but it is what it is. We can only move forward.” She offers Regina a tentative smile. “Anyway, yeah, I need your help. But we shouldn’t talk out here. It isn’t safe.”

The vampire looks like she’s going to scoff and make some remark about how she’s capable of defense so safety isn’t an issue, but instead she glances down, almost shyly, half turning towards the crypt behind her. “Would you like to come inside?”

Emma follows Regina into her father’s crypt and is astonished to see that it actually looks kind of homey. It doesn’t exactly look like Emma’s first choice, as far as places to hang out go, but Regina has it decorated pretty well, and she even has some furniture. It’s dimly lit by candlelight. Emma wouldn’t describe it as classy, but it’s certainly the classiest  _ crypt  _ she’s ever been in.

Regina clicks her tongue. “Yeah, it’s not the most comfortable place for you, I’m sure,” she says, as she watches Emma survey the room. She gestures around her. “You can sit anywhere you’d like.” Emma glances at her options. There’s the floor, there’s the steps, there’s a large stone coffin, and there’s a small bed. She flushes at the idea of sitting on Regina’s bed, but it looks like the more comfortable option.

“Um…” she starts, eyeing the bed and then the stairs. 

Regina chuckles, “It’s fine, Emma. Just sit on the bed.” 

“Okay,” Emma squeaks as she shuffles over to the bed and perches herself stiffly on the side opposite Regina’s pillow. It seems like the least intimate option. To her surprise, Regina climbs onto the bed with her, on the total opposite end, leaning against the bed frame, pillow in her lap, looking more comfortable than Emma’s ever seen her. She can’t stop staring.

Regina huffs a laugh at her, “Comfortable?” And Emma knows she’s laughing at the way Emma is right on the edge of the bed, feet still on the floor, and no, she isn’t comfortable. So she shrugs, kicks her shoes off, and sits cross legged facing Regina who raises an eyebrow at her. Emma just shrugs again. Might as well make the most of it. “This is kind of unusual, isn’t it? Two enemies sitting here like we’re having a sleepover.”

Emma absentmindedly pulls the fluffy purple blanket next to her over her lap, running her fingers over it before speaking. “We don’t have to be enemies you know.” She cautiously eyes Regina, not sure what she thinks about the idea. The vampire is right, this is really weird. Emma isn’t sure what to make of it, but she doesn’t have room to worry about this on top of everything that’s going on.

“So, you came here for my help.” Regina gives her a slight smile, tucking her knees to her chest.

“Yeah, something’s happened. And I don’t know what to do. Also I need you to tell me what happened the other night after I blacked out. I asked August, but he didn’t have the whole story; I’m still missing a few parts.”

Regina nods. “Of course. What’s the last thing you remember?”

“We were dancing, and you told me… who I was.”

“And who are you?” Regina asks, testing Emma’s memory. 

“Snow’s daughter. The product of true love, and a vampire Slayer both by right and by blood. My mother is a vampire with a soul and my father is human.”

“Good.” Regina says, still nodding. Then she smirks, “I’m glad you aren’t going to deny this too.” Emma snorts, looking away. She’s really good at denying things. “Alright, so Snow came up to us. She pretty much ignored me at first. She had her hand on your arm and looked at you like she was seeing you for the first time. She started crying, and I knew she had heard us. It was foolish of me to think she hadn’t because I know how good her hearing is, and besides, seeing me there, I knew she’d be keeping a closer eye on you than usual.

“You went really pale and your knees gave out, so I caught you, and that’s when Snow acknowledged me. She glared at me, and pulled you away from me, like she thought I was going to hurt you. Then you kind of regained your balance and pulled away from Snow, looking between us both, shaking your head. You said ‘this is too much’ and ‘I’m so confused’ and ‘this isn’t right’ and we weren’t sure what you were talking about because you kind of mumbled some other stuff to yourself that didn’t make a lot of sense. Sort of like you were thinking outloud?”

Emma immediately blushes, suddenly petrified at the fact that she had worked through her very complicated thoughts on this outloud. If they had been out of her control, she could have said anything. “But you couldn’t really hear what I was saying?”

Regina hesitates before shaking her head. “Not exactly. Just a few words here and there. Nothing that we could make sense of.” Emma doesn’t want to accept that answer, still paranoid her mouth betrayed her innermost thoughts, but she nods her head anyways and hopes for the best. Regina continues. “Snow moved towards you, asking you what was wrong and she was still crying. She was apologizing and trying to comfort you, but you kept pulling away. You wouldn’t stop staring at me, and I couldn’t tell what you felt. I thought you might have been angry with me. I said your name, and your knees gave out again, but Snow caught you before I could. She turned to me and told me to leave. So I did.”

“Weren’t you worried?” Emma asks suddenly, surprising the both of them with her question.

Regina’s eyes widen slightly before she looks down. Emma thinks she catches a shade of pink spreading across the vampire’s face, but she’s sure she’s imagining it because vampires probably can’t blush. Probably. “Yes,” Regina admits softly. Emma isn’t sure what to do with that information or the way her chest swells at the knowledge that Regina was worried about her. They sit together in silence for a moment before Regina asks, “What happened?”

“What?”

“You said that something happened, and you need my help.”

“Oh, right.” Emma swallows, not sure how to start. “So, um, that night, I think that’s when it happened.” She sighs, trying to gather her thoughts, and she half expects Regina to snap at her for taking so long, but she doesn’t. “I guess I’ll just tell you my side of the story. I blacked out that night after you told me, and the next thing I remember I was at home the next morning, in bed, in my pajamas, and I thought I’d dreamed it, but I knew I hadn’t. August told me what he remembered, which wasn’t very helpful. He and Snow had taken me home. He said that Snow got me all settled in but then disappeared without saying good bye. I still had questions, so I went to find Snow.

“I looked at her house and at the school, really thoroughly, but I couldn’t find her. I thought that was weird. Her cell phone went straight to voicemail too. So I spent all day looking for her with no luck. By the time I was heading back home, it was dark, so I decided to do a quick patrol, cause, you know, I didn’t go the night before. 

“Suddenly I got attacked from behind, and no offense, but I thought it was you. I was about to tell you off and roll my eyes and all that, but when I turned around, I saw that it wasn’t you who attacked me. It was Snow, and she was… She was different.”

Regina’s face is more pale than usual, and she looks frozen with shock. “What do you mean by different?”

“Well, she was dressed different. Not her usual colorful stuff, but black. And her face was all vamped out, and I mean, I’ve seen it before, but she actually looked scary. She was glaring at me.” Emma goes on to tell Regina every word that Snow said to her, the way she said it, the way it creeped Emma out. “I just don’t know. She was so… cruel. And I still can’t believe she hit me. And now, we have a substitute librarian. Apparently he’s there for the rest of the year. Some shit about Snow being on ‘sabbatical.’” Emma scoffs, shaking her head. “If only.”

“And you think that the other night has something to do with this?” Regina asks, more of a statement than a question.

“Well, yeah. It’s the only thing that would make sense. Except it doesn’t because I don’t remember anything.” Emma shrugs before glancing back up at Regina who’s staring at her with wide eyes, mouth slightly ajar. “Regina?”

“I think I know what happened.”

Emma sits up so fast that she almost falls forward on the bed, which squeaks below her. “You do? How? What happened?”

With a sigh, Regina sits up to match Emma’s position, both of them cross legged and leaning forward. She rests her elbows on her knees before explaining. “There’s this… legend, I guess you could call it, about vampires and souls. As you know, most vampires don’t have souls. We lose them when we’re sired. Snow is the only vampire I‘ve ever personally known to have a soul, and I’m still unsure how that happened. My best theory is that she was the Slayer at her time of sire, but it could be something else.

“Anyway, it’s said that any vampire is capable of earning a soul without it being a burden. See, when a vampire is sired, we lose all control, and most end up killing the first human we find until our thirst is quenched, and then we realize what’s happened. For Snow, that was a more painful moment than for any other vampire, because she was still capable of remorse and love and compassion. She was a vampire, but she was still the Slayer, and living with the weight of who she was, both sides of herself battling against each other, it made her soul a burden to her.

“I didn’t realize the rumors could actually be true, but vampires burdened with a soul can lose it. And when they do, they become dark, having suddenly lost all the good feelings within them. It backfires more than losing your soul at your time of sire.”

“And you think that Snow lost her soul? But how?” Emma asks, confused.

“Yes.” Regina grimaces as she looks back at Emma. “Souls are linked to love. You could say they are made out of love. Vampires were never meant to experience happiness, we were only meant to be monsters, which is why we have no soul, because we have no love.”

“But…?” Emma prompts.

“ _ But _ there was a vampire who managed to find love once, true love, and he developed a soul, and he proved it could be possible. There was another vampire, one of the most evil, he had a soul forced into him as a curse for slaughtering a village. The soul was a burden to him for years, but he ended up losing it when he experienced a moment of true happiness. It seems that love is what creates a soul, but somehow, it can also take it away, if it hasn’t been earned.”

“And Snow didn’t earn hers?”

“No. She was born with it. It just carried over.”

“But she fell in love, right? With the guy who’s my father. If I’m the product of true love like you say, wouldn’t she have lost her soul back then?”

“I thought so too, but it didn’t happen. I’ve been looking for answers for years, but I haven’t found much conclusive evidence. I think for Snow, something else transcended romantic love, and that’s why she could be in true romantic love and still contain her soul. There are different kinds of love you know…”

Emma blushes into her hands and groans. “Yeah, I know. So you’re saying that whatever form of love that the souled vampire considers ultimate, that’s what takes away their soul if they haven’t earned it?”

“I think so.”

“So Snow’s ultimate form of love wasn’t romantic, but…”

“Maternal,” Regina finishes for her.

Emma blinks, eyes wide. “Oh. So that night, when she took care of me and made sure I was safe in bed…”

“True Love’s Kiss.”

“What? That’s a real thing?”

Regina shrugs. “Maybe. That’s part of the legend. I mean there’s no way to know unless we asked Snow herself, but I doubt she would tell us. She has more books than I do, and she was there when it happened. My guess is that she kissed you on the head, but then had to leave abruptly because her soul was being pulled from her body. I can’t imagine that’s very comfortable. She would have known what was happening enough to know she needed to get away from you, to keep you safe.”

Suddenly Emma lurches forward, grasping Regina’s arm. “Regina!” The vampire jumps and looks up at her, shocked by the blonde’s impulsive movement. “I have all of Snow’s books! I got them from her house today when I knew she wasn’t there and knew I wouldn’t run into her! And I got the ones from the school too so the new guy wouldn’t find them. We can do research!”

Regina smiles. “That was very smart of you.”

“Right? Okay so maybe not tonight, but sometime really soon, we should do research. It’s good now since I know where you live, whereas before I would just have to wander around and hope you showed up.” Emma snaps her mouth shut. She’s revealing too much, and Regina is smirking at her, and oh god, Emma is blushing again.

“You did that?” Regina quirks an eyebrow at her.

“No,” Emma lies. Regina hums in response, obviously not believing her. “Anyways, Snow seemed pretty dangerous, and if she’s gone straight up evil, we should be worried right? I mean, we can’t know until we do more research, but until then I think we ought to have a plan. To keep safe”

“She  _ is  _ dangerous.” Regina sighs. “I would say she’s probably one of the most dangerous vampires out there right now, because for one, she’s already hyper strong with the combined strength of a vampire and a Slayer. Not to mention, she has years of pent up negative emotions. I’m surprised she hasn’t come after me yet. I know she’s grateful for you in some twisted way, and that’s why she didn’t kill you, but it’s only a matter of time. For us to be truly safe, Snow would either need to have her soul back or be dead.”

Emma’s eyebrows shoot up her head, “No. No way, Regina. I know you hate her, but we are  _ not  _ going to kill her.” 

“Alright, fine.” Regina says, rolling her eyes. Emma gapes at her. “Relax,” Regina says, laughing. “I wasn’t going to suggest that we kill her.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I wasn’t!” 

This time Emma is the one rolling her eyes, and she climbs off Regina’s bed, putting her shoes back on. “I probably should get going. We’ll meet up sometime tomorrow, yeah? Can I just meet you here?”

Regina gets up, walking Emma to the door. “Sure, if that’s fine with you. Around dusk?”

“Yeah, sure.” Emma stops walking as she passes the bookcase as she notices something familiar lying on one of the shelves. She squints. “Oh my god!” She runs over the bookshelf and picks the item up before spinning back to face Regina. “You kept our picture!”

Regina looks alarmed, but chuckles anyway. “Yeah, of course. What else was I going to do with it?”

Emma shrugs. “I thought you might’ve thrown it away.”

“Well I did think about it…” 

“Shut up,” Emma laughs, playfully shoving Regina’s shoulder. She walks back over to put it back on the shelf when Regina speaks again behind her.

“You can keep it if you’d like.”

She puts it on the shelf and turns to walk back towards Regina and the door. “Nah, you can keep it. You need something nice to look at in here anyway.”

“Emma, really? It’s not  _ that _ bad in here.”

The blonde sucks in a breath through her teeth, arms up in defense. “I don’t know, it smells kinda bad and looks really gloomy and--” She’s cut off by Regina pushing her, and the two of them are laughing together, like friends. “Okay, fine. It really isn’t that bad. And it doesn’t stink...that much. Honestly it's the nicest crypt I’ve ever been in.”

“Oh, been in many crypts?” Regina’s voice sounds lower than it had been before and the two stop laughing and look at the ground as Regina clears her throat. Emma wonders if she’s imagining the way the air around them has just changed. She moves towards the door. “Will you be alright? Walking home alone?”

Emma nods. “Yeah I’ll be fine. It’s not a long walk, plus I have the stake you gave me.” Emma holds it up for Regina to see. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Bye.” She hears Regina mutter as she closes the door behind her. 

That night Emma runs home, to avoid a run in with her soulless vampire mother, but also to shake off whatever weird feeling she had after that interaction with Regina. She’s a strange woman, and Emma really doesn’t mind.

The next day after school, Emma has Ruby and Neal meet up with her and August at their home. She’s got Regina’s help, but she knows that it would be both unfair and dangerous to her friends to keep them in the dark.

“What’s up, Em?” Ruby asks. Emma has been staring at her hands as she sits on the loveseat facing all her friends sprawled across the couch. She’s not sure where to start.

“Alright, so. The night after the dance, I went out on patrol. Yeah, I know, I shouldn’t have gone alone, but I did. And I might have gotten attacked…”

“ _ Might _ have?” Neal asks with concern.

August rolls his eyes. “It was Regina wasn’t it? I told you that you shouldn’t trust her--”

“No,” Emma puts her hands up, coming immediately to Regina’s defense. “It- It was Snow.” She eyes her friends cautiously, watching as all three pairs of eyes bug out and all three jaws drop before they each exclaim their responses, almost all at the same time.

“Snow?! Is that why she isn’t here?”

“What d’you mean she attacked you? Why would she do that?”

“Wait,  _ what _ ? Are you saying that  _ Snow  _ is a  _ vampire _ ?”

Emma hesitates before saying anything else, leaning back and trying to get more comfortable. Unfortunately, nothing about this situation is comfortable and she has to force the words out of her mouth anyway. “Yeah, Snow’s a vampire.”

“What the fuck?”

“Since when?”

“How? Was it Regina?”

“Stop. Seriously can we leave Regina out of this? Please?!” August looks away, not quite apologetically, but enough to make Emma continue. “Thank you. How and when Snow became a vampire isn’t my story to tell you, it’s Snow’s. Unfortunately it might be a while before you hear anything from her because she’s kind of evil now.” 

She pauses for a moment, waiting for all of them to freak out at once, but instead, Neal is the only one to speak. “Uh, okay. So what happened?”

“Okay well long story short, Snow was a Slayer... _ is _ a Slayer, like me, and so when she became a vampire, she had a soul. Or at least that’s the only explanation we’ve come up with. So there’s this whole thing about vampires being able to earn souls, and if they earn a soul they can keep it. Souls are made of true love and stuff. So anyway, Snow was born with hers, she didn’t earn it, which makes her soul fragile. It can be destroyed by what she thinks is the ultimate true love, which… for her was motherly love. Not romantic love, which she had once but lost, when she lost her baby.”

Ruby squints, “But for motherly love to destroy her soul, that means she would have found her child. Right?”

“Yeah. She found her child. They were reunited a while back but didn’t know it until the night of the dance. She expressed motherly love, probably in the form of True Love’s Kiss, which is also probably a real thing, and it cost her her soul.”

“Woah, woah, woah. Wait a minute.” August is staring at Emma, eyes wide. He gets it. “Does that mean that  _ you’re _ her daughter?”

Emma nods, “Yeah, that’s why I blacked out at the dance. That’s what Regina told me that night. I’m not just the Slayer by right, I’m the Slayer by blood too.”

Neal and Ruby gape at her, still catching up. August is still asking questions, “Wait, but how does Regina know that?” Emma gives him a look. “I know, sorry, but doesn’t it seem a little suspicious that Regina just happens to have this infor--”

“August, no. It doesn’t matter. Do you guys have any more questions for me?” They shake their heads at her. “Okay, good. So I have all of Snow’s books here,” she gestures at a box of books hidden behind her between the loveseat and the wall. “As long as Marco isn’t here we can do research down here. He doesn’t know about this stuff so we have to be careful. Right now, our plan is to act fast, do research, stick together, and stay safe.”

“What are we looking for?”

“Anything. Stuff about Snow, about souls, about true love, any of that.” Emma pauses for a moment, worrying her bottom lip. “Um, there’s going to be stuff you’re gonna find out about Snow… and about Regina, and maybe even stuff about me, that you don’t know now. All I ask is that you keep an open mind, and trust me.”

“You know we trust you, Emma,” Neal gives her a soft smile and the others follow suit, nodding along with him.

“Thanks guys. This is really important, you know? Now, uh, I gotta go get something but I’ll be right back.” Emma gets up, grabbing her jacket and keys.

August looks at her, face covered in worry, “Emma it’s almost dark. Are you sure you don’t want one of us to come with you?”

Emma grins at him, “Thanks, August, but I’m sure. I’ll be back before you know it.” She throws her jacket on and walks out the door, locking it behind her. She puts her hands in her pockets, comforted when she wraps her hand around Regina’s stake. 

As she walks towards Regina’s crypt, she can’t help but feel nervous. Regina has no idea that Emma is taking her over to her house for research, and her friends have no idea that Regina is coming over. She doesn’t know who’s going to freak out more, but she hopes she’ll be able to keep everyone civil.

When she gets there, she stands outside and flaps her hands around uselessly, wondering why they’re so sweaty even though it’s winter, before she knocks on the door, thankful that it’s made of wood and not stone like on some of the other crypts she’s seen. It’s only five seconds after Emma knocks that Regina pulls the door open and gives Emma a hesitant smile. “Emma.”

“Hey, Regina,” Emma throws her a single wave. “Ready to go?”

The smile instantly disappears from Regina’s face. “Go where?”

“My house?” Emma says, as if it’s obvious. Regina just blinks and follows Emma, closing the door behind her. Nearly the whole way there, Regina is one step behind Emma, wringing her hands together, eyes flickering back and forth as if on a lookout. Emma turns around to check on her constantly, and eventually she falls into step beside her. “Hey,” she nudges her gently, “You okay?” Regina sighs, and nods, but she doesn’t say anything. “I didn’t want to drag all my books over to your crypt. Plus my house is a little more comfortable, no offense, and I knew my friends wouldn’t want to hang out in your crypt. Besides, I have snacks!”

“Wait,” Regina grabs Emma’s arm before they can turn down the walkway up to Emma’s house. “Your friends are here?”

“Yeah, they’re gonna help us research and plan. They already knew about the vampire stuff before, and I just filled them in on the soul stuff.”

“Do they know I’m coming?” Emma gulps, averting her eyes from Regina. “They don’t do they? They’re not going to like me being here. I should just go.” Emma grabs her by the arm before she can walk away and pulls her back.

“Hey, it’s gonna be fine. Trust me.” Emma keeps a hold on Regina’s arm, and doesn’t let go until she pulls out her keys to unlock the door.

“You know you’ll have to--”

“You’re invited, Regina. Let’s go inside,” Emma says, cutting Regina off and walking through the door. She stops when Regina doesn’t follow her in, turning to see her frozen, staring wide eyed at the three teenagers glaring at her. Emma shoots them a look before stepping back onto the porch and holding onto Regina’s arm again. “What are you waiting for? Come on in. I promise you, it’ll be fine. It’s my home, and I invited you. You’re welcome here.” Regina looks down and sighs before she meets Emma’s eyes and gives her a small nod. Emma grins at her, and pulls her through the door, closing it and locking it behind her. 

She leads Regina over to the living room, “Guys, this is Regina. She’s going to be helping us out. Regina, this is August, Neal, and Ruby, my friends from school.”

At first, nobody says anything, and Regina looks like she wants to disappear while her friends just look panicked and angry. August is the first to speak, “You invited her in here?” Regina stiffens next to her.

“Uh, yeah, didn’t she try to kill you?” Neal asks, hesitantly, more confused than anything.

“Yeah, that’s right. She did try to kill you. Twice, right?” August adds. “Emma, I know you said to trust you, but right now I’m not sure I can. I don’t believe this.”

Emma groans, “Shut up, August. Look, I know you don’t like it, but this is the way it’s gonna be. You’re my brother, and I love you, but you have got to pull your head out of your ass, alright? Yes, me and Regina have had our misunderstandings before, and I’m sure we will again, but I asked her for her help, and she’s agreed to give it to us. Maybe she’s dangerous, but we’ve been trusting a vampire for months now, not to mention the fact that one of you is a frickin werewolf! 

“I’m not asking you to trust Regina, I’m asking you to trust me. If any of you have a problem with her, you bring it to me, but I’m not going to stand for you acting like a douche to her when she’s going out of her way to help us.” Emma glances at her friends, waiting to see if they will argue back, but they just nod and go back to their respective books. “Thank you.”

Emma turns to Regina to give her a smile, but she freezes when she meets Regina’s eyes and she sees something different about them. They seem more full, more warm than before, when Regina blinks, Emma expects the warmth to disappear, but the look is still there. Emma smiles at her, but Regina doesn’t smile back. Emma gives her arm a light squeeze before she flops down into her former spot and picks up a book from the table in front of her. 

“You can sit wherever you want,” Emma tells Regina, gesturing at the room. She expects Regina to pick the armchair across the room so she can sit by herself, but Emma looks up in surprise when she feels someone next to her on the loveseat. Regina just shrugs and takes the book from Emma’s lap and starts looking through it.

The whole situation has Emma paralyzed for a moment. Regina is sitting next to her, in her living room, reading a book that she snatched from Emma, her fingers brushing over Emma’s as she had slid the book away, her perfect ass is on Emma’s favorite seat in the whole house, and they’re close enough that their thighs are touching, which makes Emma’s brain fuzzy. She’s grateful for Ruby clearing her throat across the room. Her eyes snap up to the werewolf who smirks at her before gesturing towards the stack of books. 

Emma stands to grab one and sits back down, going to cross her legs in the seat out of habit, but realizing her mistake when one of her knees lands on Regina’s leg. She inhales sharply, glancing at Regina out of the corner of her eye, who pretends not to notice but is still smirking. Emma knows the smirk is for her, even if Regina isn’t saying so or looking at her, and Emma decides to just let herself relax, which leaves her knee essentially resting on Regina’s lap. 

When Regina doesn’t move, Emma takes that as a good sign, and she opens the book she picked up and starts to read. She doesn’t know what’s gotten into her, but she doesn’t read a single word of that book.

It’s probably an hour later when August pipes up, “Has anyone found anything yet? We probably need to talk more strategy, so we’re all on the same page,” He says, looking at Regina. He still doesn’t look welcoming, but he doesn’t look angry anymore, and it seems he wants to include her, so Emma calls it a plus. 

Neal starts to talk about some random vampire fact he finds fascinating, obviously distracted from their mission, and Emma takes the opportunity to reposition herself, leaning on the armrest and tucking her socked feet under Regina’s leg. Regina crosses her leg to give Emma space to do so, but otherwise stares at Neal while he talks.

August interrupts him, “Yeah, Neal, that’s really cool and all, but we need to talk about Snow, remember? What we need to do. Like Emma said, we have to stay safe and stick together. But we need some kind of tactic, even about research.”

“August is right,” Regina says. Three pairs of eyes look stiffly towards her, so she doesn’t say anything else.

“Thanks.” August continues, still wary of the vampire. “Anyway, I wouldn’t mind doing a lot of the research. We can extend it to online too, so I can work on that as well. I’ll make notes and stuff to talk to you guys about, and we can schedule meetings or something. It would make sense for Emma and Regina to do patrols, but I don’t think anyone should be walking outside alone until we have some semblance of a plan. We don’t need to put anyone at unnecessary risk, and from what I’ve read in this book, sending Regina outside is essentially a death wish. For her, anyway.”

Emma looks at August in surprise, he doesn’t sound very sympathetic, but he’s making an effort. He smiles at Emma as if he can read her mind, and she smiles back before glancing at Regina, who’s eyeing her curiously. “Good thinking, August,” she mutters, eyes still on Regina. She looks over to him. 

“Wait, what’d you read about?” Ruby asks, reaching over Neal to snatch the book from August. Emma starts to panic, recognizing that book as the one that shares the most about Regina.

“Hey! Uh…” Everyone is now staring at her and she doesn’t know what to say. She stares from the book to Regina, back to the book. Regina looks at the book, and back to Emma.

“It’s fine, Emma.” She whispers, sending a chill through Emma that she doesn’t know what to do with. “You can tell them, August. It’s fine. I’m not going to hide anything from any of you.”

August blushes in embarrassment before he turns to Ruby and Neal. “Uh, basically, Regina’s in that book and it talks about how she’s the one that sired Snow. And she’s basically the reason Snow killed her Watcher and her father, who Regina was married to at the time. I mean, that’s the gist anyway. There’s some more, but you guys can just read about it yourselves, or, you know, ask Regina, if that’s okay with her,” he ends quietly, avoiding Regina’s eyes, even though Regina is looking at her hands.

“Woah,” is all Neal says. Ruby doesn’t say anything. They’re all quiet for a while, and Emma wants nothing more than for all of them to just move on and get along, but she knows she needs to be patient with them. She may be perfectly okay with Regina, but she understands her friends’ apprehension.

When the silence is broken, it’s Regina who finally speaks, still not looking at anyone. “I don’t expect any of you to trust me. But I appreciate you letting me help you.” No one answers, short of some affirmative we-heard-you nodding, and the air is too stiff and awkward until August finally says something else.

“It’s getting kind of late. We can talk more tomorrow, but I think for tonight we should all stay here. Since it’s dark, Snow could be out looking for any of us.” Everyone nods in agreement. Ruby calls dibs on half of August’s bed and Neal calls dibs on the other as they race up the stairs, which leaves August groaning behind them, trudging in defeat. When he gets to the bottom of the stairs, he looks over to Emma, “You good?” Emma nods at him, smiling. “Cool. Night Emma,. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thanks, August, you too.” As soon as he disappears up the stairs, Regina stands up, leaving Emma’s feet cold. She frowns up at Regina who is making her way towards the door. “Hey, wait, where are you going?” Emma leaps up, nearly tripping over her own feet and dashing towards Regina, grabbing her arm and turning the vampire to face her.

“To my crypt?” 

“Why?”

“What do you mean, why? That’s where I live.” Emma opens her mouth to comment, to point out that they all said they would stick together, but Regina argues her point before she even makes it. “Look, I know they said we’d all be safer together, but I don’t think that includes me. They’d all feel safer if I wasn’t here, so I’m just going to go.” 

Emma’s hand drops from Regina’s arm as the vampire makes her way to the door again. “I get it, but…” Emma’s voice comes out too soft, but she can’t help it.

“But what?” Regina stops, hand on the doorknob and turns to look at her again.

Emma closes her eyes. “But what if I need you?”

“For what?” Regina asks, genuinely confused.

“To protect me.”

Regina opens her mouth and closes it, several times, before finally, she walks back to Emma, her movements and her voice hesitant. “I don’t want to intrude, or make you or your friends feel uncomfortable. Besides, I’m sure you can protect yourself.”

Emma shrugs, “Well, yeah, but…” She’s fresh out of any good logic. She’s starting to get embarrassed and wishing she hadn’t said anything, but she knows that she’ll feel better if Regina stays. She wants to know that Regina is okay, and she can’t shake the feeling that she feels inexplicably safe around Regina. She wants to admit that to her, and although she’s hesitant, she would do anything to get her to stay. Luckily she doesn't have to. One word is enough. “Please?”

Regina sighs, “Okay, fine. As you wish.” 

Emma can’t help the smile that spreads across her face as she grabs Regina’s arm once again and tugs her up the stairs. “And by the way, you don’t make me uncomfortable.”

Once they’re in Emma’s room, Emma panics, suddenly realizing what all of this means. “Uhh..” Emma shuffles to her closet where she pulls out a t-shirt and pajama bottoms for Regina. “I hope these are okay.” She puts them in Regina’s hands, and Regina just stares at them. “If you want, I have other options,” Emma frantically goes to her closet for more.

“These are fine.” Emma turns back to her. 

“Yeah, okay. Okay, good. I figured you wouldn’t want to sleep in leather.” She laughs but it comes out high pitched and weird. She clears her throat and turns back to the closet to retrieve pajamas for herself. “So, if you want, the bathroom is down the hall, you can go there to change, if you wa--” Emma turns back around, stopping short when she sees that Regina is already changing! In her room! Leather pants on the floor, it takes all of Emma’s strength to tear her eyes away from Regina’s toned legs. She spins around, her face in her hands, and as if this couldn’t be more embarrassing, she squeaks. She literally squeaks. Before Regina can say anything, Emma says “I’mgoingtothebathroom,” and runs out the door with her pajamas.

It’s at least ten minutes later when Emma returns to her room after she changes, brushes her teeth, and regains her composure in the bathroom. She wishes she had grabbed something other than shorts, the shortest ones she has at that, but maybe Regina won’t even notice.

She does.

Emma walks into her room to find Regina perched on the edge of her bed, wearing the pajamas that Emma gave her. When Emma walks in, Regina looks up, her eyes catching on Emma’s legs, staring at them for longer than normal, and Emma pretends not to notice. “So, um. You can sleep on the bed. I’ll take the floor. I have extra pillows and blankets so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. There’s enough room for both of us. We can just share.”

“Okay,” Emma squeaks again. _ Dammit, Emma what’s your problem? Get it together. Why are you so nervous? It’s just Regina. _ “If that’s okay with you, it’s okay with me.”

“If it wasn’t okay with me, why would I have suggested it?” Regina raises an eyebrow, smirking at Emma again.

“Touché.” Emma clambers onto the bed before stopping in the middle. “Umm, which side do you want?”

“Whichever side you don’t want.”

“Oh, okay. Well, I don’t really have a preference. Usually I just sleep in the middle.” Emma sucks a harsh breath in, realizing what she just said. “Uh, not that I’m going to tonight. I’ll be on my side, giving you any space you want. I guess I’ll sleep on this side.” She scoots over to the side by the window and crawls under the blanket so that everything but her eyes are covered.

She peeks out at Regina who grins at her, looking like she’s trying to keep from laughing. “Do you want me to turn the lights off?”

“Oh shit! I forgot,” Emma throws off the covers and gets to the lightswitch before Regina can. She’s trying to be a good host, but it’s not exactly happening. At least Regina is amused. She walks back around to her side of the bed, nearly tripping in the dark and resumes her under-the-covers position. Regina does the same before looking at Emma.

“Do you always sleep like a vampire in a coffin?” And Emma laughs, too much. It’s a funny joke, but a full minute of laughter is not warranted. “Wow, I didn’t realize I was so funny.”

“You’re not,” Emma says quickly, trying to brush off the fact that she’s obviously unhinged. “I mean, uh… Okay that sounded mean. I wasn’t trying to be mean.” Regina chuckles, and Emma relaxes. She rolls over on her side to face Regina. “And no, I don’t sleep like a vampire in a coffin. Usually I sleep like some kind of uber relaxed bear in hibernation.” And Regina laughs, a perfectly normal amount. “You’re the one lying there like a vampire in a coffin.” 

Regina shrugs. Her eyes are closed, and Emma can’t help but stare at how peaceful and beautiful she looks. Emma is staggered that she considers  _ stunning _ to describe Regina, and she thinks back to that moment earlier where she saw her legs. And the way she looks in leather pants. It crosses Emma’s mind that she’s attracted to Regina, but she can’t help but think that’s incorrect. For one, Regina has killed people, intentionally, not to mention she kidnapped Emma as a baby. And she was her mother’s stepmother. 

Honestly, it’s all too much for Emma to consider, so she tries to clear her head. It’s a lot harder with the woman lying right next to her though, so she’s really out of luck. At some point during Emma’s thought train, Regina had opened her eyes and noticed Emma staring. Emma startles when she sees Regina staring at her. Regina chuckles. “Did I scare you?”

“Uhh… yeah, kind of.”

“You were the one who was staring at me.” Emma blushes and hides under the covers like before. Regina snorts. “What were you thinking about? It seemed serious.”

“Well.” Emma swallows. “If you must know, I was thinking about how you kidnapped me and wondering if that makes things weird.”

“Do you think it makes things weird?”

“I don’t know, really. A lot of things are weird.” Regina hums in response. Emma waits to see if Regina’s going to say anything else, but she doesn’t. “Hey, can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer, but I am curious.” Regina looks over at Emma, nodding in affirmation. “Okay, so you kidnapped me, right? But why did you take me to a group home? You could have just as easily dumped me on the side of the road or at a gas station, or left me on a changing table at a rest stop.”

Regina sighs, before rolling over to face Emma. “For one, I was trying to punish Snow, not you. Second, my punishment to Snow seemed so unfair to you. Honestly, I wanted you to have your best chance, so I took you there. I didn’t want them to see me though. I didn’t want to be tied to you at all. And I wasn’t.”

“Wouldn’t my best chance have been with my parents?”

Regina scoffs, “Yeah, it would have been really great for your mother to kiss you for the first time and lose her soul with baby you in her arms. She would have killed you.”

“Oh,” is all Emma says. She drops the subject, knowing there’s more to the story but sensing that Regina isn’t ready to talk about it yet. “Are you comfortable?” Emma asks softly.

“Yes.”

“Good, I just wanted to make sure.” Emma closes her eyes and wills herself to fall asleep. She has to roll over a few more times, but eventually she’s the most comfortable. She hears Regina’s even breaths and smiles, thinking about how cute it is that she fell asleep next to Emma, curled up in a little vampire ball.  _ Does she really feel that safe with me? _ Emma can’t help but wonder as she finally dozes off, content. She certainly feels that safe with Regina.

Emma is jarred awake in the middle of the night by a noise and an incredibly uneasy feeling. She peeks her eyes open, almost afraid to look around her, and her intuition is proven right when she sees a figure hovering next to the bed. She sits up so fast she makes herself dizzy, “Fuck!” 

At that, Regina startles, she sits up next to Emma, groggy as hell, and Emma thinks for a moment how she looks more useless than Emma feels after waking up. For some reason, she’s not expecting Regina to be anything but on point. “Wha’s goin on?” Regina mumbles, eyes still full of sleep. Emma thinks it’s adorable, but she’s too panicked to go there right now.

“Regina! Wake the hell up! Snow’s in my fucking room!”

At that Regina’s eyes actually open. “How?” Her voice sounds thick, but Emma can tell she’s definitely awake now.

Snow sneers. “She invited me, obviously. I’m just as welcome here, as you are, Regina, only I’ve never slept over here. You really must be special.”

Regina gapes at Emma, “You didn’t uninvite her?”

Emma looks frantically back at her, eyes flickering to Snow every so often. “I’m sorry! I forgot! Plus I didn’t even know I  _ could _ uninvite her! You didn’t say anything, and who was gonna tell me?  _ Her _ ?” Emma shrieks, gesturing at Snow.

Snow pouts at them, mocking. “Oh, she’s right, Regina. You’re basically her new Watcher now. Let’s see how good you are at looking out for her.” Snow pounces at Emma, hands around her throat, but as quickly as she is there trying to hurt Emma, she’s gone. 

In the time it takes Emma to blink, Regina has Snow pinned to the wall by the window, one arm holding Snow’s hands above her head, the other arm pressed against her throat. “Don’t you fucking touch her,” Regina growls. “I promised her I wouldn’t kill you, but I swear to god, if you lay so much as a finger on her, I will destroy you.”

Snow cackles at her, “Oh, I’d like to see you try.”

“Don’t test me,” Regina says through bared teeth. “The only reason you’re getting out of here alive is because of her. I don’t want you coming back. Got it?”

“Oh, sorry, I already have plans to come back tomorrow night.”

“We’ll see about that.” Emma watches, jaw dropped, as Regina grabs Snow and throws her out the open window. She closes it, locks it, and pulls the curtain before she is suddenly by Emma’s side, eyes so full of concern that they make Emma’s heart stop and her breath hitch, and Regina cups her face with her hand and there’s this immediate feeling of electricity at the contact that makes Emma completely forget how to use words. “Are you okay?” Regina asks, her voice tender. Emma just nods.

There’s something definite in Regina’s eyes and in her touch that Emma doesn’t understand. She’s not sure if Regina even understands, but all Emma knows is that she wants to. She wants to understand. Regina’s thumb slowly strokes Emma’s cheek before she pulls her hand away, as if she just realized how close they are. She clears her throat. “Sorry.” For a moment, Regina looks just as flustered as Emma feels. “I was just overwhelmed… with blinding rage, or something.”

Emma blinks a few times, trying to find her voice again. “Uh-huh.” Not her best work, but she’s proud of herself for making it that far. Regina gets up and moves back to her side of the bed. She lies back down to face Emma, who just lies on her back, like a vampire in a coffin, her brain swimming.

Regina must sense that Emma is panicking because she reaches for Emma’s hand, and squeezes it. More electricity. Emma presses her eyes shut, the feeling unsettles her, but she’d be lying if she said she didn’t like it. This is one of those times Emma is fortunate that Regina doesn’t read minds. “Don’t worry. I know how to uninvite vampires. We can work on that first thing tomorrow. I don’t think she’ll be back tonight.” She strokes Emma’s hand. “If she does come back, you know I’ll protect you,” and Emma doesn’t doubt it for a second. Regina takes her hand off of Emma’s, but the tingling feeling remains even after the contact is over.

“I’ll protect you too,” Emma manages to whisper.

She can hear Regina’s smile just before a “sweet dreams, Emma” that makes her heart swell.

It isn’t until Regina falls asleep again, that Emma feels like she can breathe normally. Something has suddenly clicked into place. It makes so much sense, yet it just complicates everything more. She feels ridiculous for not realizing it sooner, but at the same time, she wishes she were still in the dark. It was easier that way.

Feelings are the kind of thing Emma doesn’t really  _ do _ . She doesn’t get feelings, and she never has, and that’s just the way she thought she was. But like she is in most ways, Regina is a game changer, and Emma knows she would be foolish to continue denying the inevitable. However, she believes this is an exception. How can she accept something she doesn’t understand? She’s not sure what she feels or why Regina makes her feel super weird, for lack of a better word, but she’s sure keeping this to herself for as long as possible, because she thinks it’s weird enough that the two of them could be friends, and the thought of anything else, makes Emma’s head feel like it’s short circuiting. She can’t imagine putting these thoughts out there or how Regina would react to them. Until she can make actual sense of any of this, she decides it’s best to keep quiet, forget that she feels anything and not bring it up. Denial is her best skill after all.

Emma looks over at Regina, sleeping peacefully next to her, before she rolls over, facing away, allowing Regina’s breathing to lull her to sleep, just like it had the first time. She’s trying not to think about it, but she manages to fall asleep with a smile on her face, despite the threats looming out the window, feeling completely safe next to Regina. That much is certain.


	5. hollow

The next morning, Emma wakes up, feeling like a zombie as usual, as she groans and rolls onto her back, staring at the ceiling, avoiding the inevitable getting out of bed. She keeps thinking there’s something really important she has to do today, but she can’t remember what it is, and suddenly there’s movement next to her and Emma is so startled she nearly falls off the bed. “Holy shit!” She’s suddenly wide awake, heart racing as she turns to see a disgruntled Regina squinting next to her.

“G’morning t’you too,” she mumbles, looking and sounding more like a zombie than Emma did just minutes ago, and she remembers groggy Regina from last night, and how groggy Regina was really endearing then and still is now. Then everything comes back to Emma. They have to uninvite Snow today.

“Sorry, ‘Gina,” Emma mumbles back, rubbing her eyes.

“That’s not my name, Swan,” Regina scowls before rolling over, her back to Emma.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Emma lunges for Regina, pulling her by her shoulder onto her back as she kneels next to her. “You are  _ not  _ going back to sleep. We’ve got to get up. School and stuff.”

“Yeah, but _ I  _ don’t have to go to school.”

“No, but you do have to uninvite Snow, remember? You promised.” Emma gives Regina her best pouty face, and it’s hard not to break character and smile when she notices Regina fighting back her own smile.

“I didn’t promise anything, and you know it.” 

“Ugh,” Emma flops back down on the bed, throwing her face into the pillow. “You’re impossible. I take it back.”

Regina’s brows furrow together as she turns to glance at the blonde, “Take what back?”

“My offer of protection,” Emma mumbles into the pillow.

“Yeah, right,” Regina scoffs. 

“I’m serious!” Emma says, propping herself up to look  _ seriously _ at Regina. Regina snorts at her. “I am! Next time you get attacked, I’m going for popcorn instead of my stake!” The vampire just shakes her head. Emma groans. “Fiiine, you’re right. I’ll still protect you. Thanks for last night by the way.”

Regina opens her mouth to speak, but stops short when her gaze lands on Emma. The two of them lock eyes, and Emma sees a flash of something in Regina’s look before the brunette breaks eye contact. “Get ready for school, Emma.”

“Wow, thanks mom.” But as soon as Emma says it, it feels wrong. “Uh…okay sorry, that was gross.” Emma blurts out.  _ Way to make it weirder _ .

Regina looks away, mouth slightly ajar, something unplaceable lighting up her eyes, and Emma is convinced that she actually saw Regina’s cheeks tint pink, but again, she’s pretty sure vampires don’t blush. “Can vampires blush?” Emma’s mouth betrays her once again, and Regina tilts her head ever so slightly in Emma’s direction, and she’s so flush with embarrassment, that it makes Emma blush too. “OhmygodsorryI’llneverspeakagain,” Emma says as she jumps off the bed and all but runs to the bathroom. What is her problem?

When she closes the bathroom door behind her, Emma realizes she forgot all her clothes in her room so she sneaks back in, snickering when she sees Regina hiding under the blanket. She quickly selects her clothes before returning to the bathroom to get ready. When she’s showered and perfected her casual Emma Swan look, she returns to her room where Regina is still hiding, probably asleep once again.

Emma can’t resist, so she runs towards the bed and jumps on top of it, totally startling the vampire, but not enough to elicit any more than a glare from the brunette. “Emma, really?” 

Chuckling, Emma climbs off the bed. “Regina, do you drink coffee? I’m going to make some coffee. Unless August has already done it, in which case I’m gonna make some more cause those caffeine thirsty mutants probably already drank it all.” Regina grunts in what Emma thinks is mostly affirmation. “How do you take it?”

“Black.”

“Ah, I see, like the space where your soul should be,” Emma jokes, earning another glare from the vampire. “Sorry,” she says, even though she isn’t. “I’ll be right back.” Emma makes her way downstairs, where her friends are all in the kitchen, slumped over the island, sipping at their coffee. “Morning, guys!” They all jump at the sound of her voice, and August looks at her, flabbergasted.

“You haven’t even had coffee yet. How are you…?” 

“What?” Emma bounces to the coffee maker, pulling two mugs from the cabinet. “Awake? Active? Alive? Not a zombie?” 

“Uh, yeah, all of the above.”

Emma shrugs, pouring Regina’s black coffee and hers with lots of room for cream. “I don’t know, I guess I’m just in a good mood. Oh! Yeah, so by the way guys, Snow came by last night through my window, but Regina threw her out. Literally. She got all scary and defensive and stuff. Told Snow she wasn’t going to kill her because I didn’t want that but then threw her out the window and told her to fuck off. Well, kind of.”

“Is she still here?” Ruby asks, an eyebrow raised.

“Uh, no, I just told you, Regina literally threw her out the window.”

“Not, Snow. I meant Regina. She’s still here?”

“Oh yeah, she’s upstairs. Who d’you think the other coffee is for?” Emma holds up the coffees as if to ‘cheers’ the others before heading back upstairs with a grin. 

She’s not quiet as she barges back into her room. “Rise and shine!” she yells, setting Regina’s coffee on the nightstand alongside her already drained mug. Regina groans, managing to sit up and sip her coffee, eyes still sealed shut. “Wow, I totally expected you to be a morning person,” Emma chuckles.

“I’m a vampire, Emma.”

“Yeah, I know. A vampire who drinks coffee and wants to sleep in.”

“Everybody drinks coffee, and all vampires sleep in.” Regina takes a deep breath. “Are you always this annoying in the morning?”

Emma snorts, “I’m not usually this  _ alive _ in the morning.”

“Maybe your proximity to death last night gave you life.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. You may be a vampire, but you don’t look like death. Or at least you didn’t...right now on the other hand--”

Regina groans, “I was talking about Snow, you insufferable, little--”

“Woah, hey! Sorry, Regina, I was just messing with you.” Emma laughs, pleased to see the twitch of the vampires lips, and she knows she’s trying not to laugh along with her. She likes this new side of their relationship, whatever it is. “Speaking of Snow, how do we uninvite her?”

“It’s a ritual. Nothing too complicated, but I want to make sure it’s done thoroughly and correctly. If it’s alright with you, I was just going to stay here and do it while you were at school.” Emma nods slowly.

“Are you sure you’re not just trying to score some extra sleepy time?” Regina lightly shoves the shoulder of the giggling blonde. “I’m kidding! It’s fine with me. Plus Marco’s at work all day, so he won’t be suspicious. Do you have all the stuff you need for it?”

“No, but you do. You have the book with the ritual in it, and I’m assuming you have crucifixes and whatnot. What kind of vampire Slayer would you be if you didn’t?”

Emma laughs, “Thanks? But yeah, they’re in my bottom desk drawer. Do you need gloves or something? So you don’t burn yourself?”

Regina blinks, clearly surprised at Emma’s consideration. “That would be nice, thank you.”

“It’s the least I could do for you since you saved my life and all.” Emma smiles at the vampire in front of her, who allows herself to smile back at Emma, and for a moment, that’s all they do, Emma’s stomach somersaulting at the way Regina’s smile lights up her eyes.

When August yells up the stairs, “Emma, hurry up, we’re gonna be late!” Emma exhales, not realizing she’s holding her breath, and Regina looks down at her coffee.

Quickly, Emma stands. “Um, so, yeah, you’re welcome to anything you need here. Books, crosses, gloves, coffee, my bed, you know, whatever you need. If you need  _ me _ , I’ll write down my cell phone number. I don’t know if you have a phone, but you can call using the house phone.” Emma grabs a pen and paper from her desk, scribbling down her number. “Oh yeah, and there are gloves in my closet. There’s a toolkit in the laundry room. I feel like I’m forgetting something.”

“Emma, go to school,” Regina says with a smirk.

“Right, yeah, okay. Bye, Regina! I’ll close all the curtains for you!” She says as she dashes out of the room, leaving the vampire in her bed smiling to herself.

They get to school on time, and Emma is distracted all morning, hoping the uninvitation is going well and that Regina is okay. She can feel Neal’s eyes on her all through English, and when the teacher wraps up early, giving them five minutes of socializing time before the bell, Emma finally turns to him, “What?”

He shrugs, “You just look really worried.”

Emma’s surprised that her face is giving so much away. Is she always such an open book? Nevertheless, she  _ is  _ worried. Regina is just stuck at Emma’s house until nightfall, which is something that the blonde hadn’t even thought about until she got to school. Would Regina need to eat? She would need blood, but it’s not like there’s any of that in Emma’s kitchen. And it isn’t even noon. Regina has hours to go, and the ritual is probably already done by now and she can’t even leave. She smiles at Neal, “I’m fine.”

He shakes his head at her. “I can tell you’re not. Is it Regina?”

“No,” Emma lies. She answers too quickly, and he smirks at her.

“Whatever you say.”

Later, in biology, she has almost the exact same conversation with Ruby, only it happens in the middle of the lecture. The bell doesn’t save Emma from potential embarrassment like it had with Neal, and Ruby is much more persistent and curious. “What was it like sharing a bed with her? Was it hot seeing her defenestrate Snow? Did you guys cuddle? What’d she sleep in? The nude?” Emma blushes more intensely at all of Ruby’s questions. 

“Can you not? She wore my pajamas, and no, we didn’t cuddle.”

“Did you want to?”

“Ruby!” Emma hisses at her.

Ruby puts her hand up in defense, “Sorry, Em. I’ll stop.”

At lunch, all of them agree to meet up in the library to talk. Even with David there, it’s less risky than talking anywhere else, surrounded by their student body where  _ anyone  _ could overhear. At least in the library, it’s just David, who gives them their privacy. The only thing they have to deal with are his dad jokes, (“Did you hear about the kidnapping last period?” “What?!” “It’s okay, he woke up.”) and even though Emma rolls her eyes at every single one, she laughs anyways which gives David the biggest smile. It’s contagious so she doesn’t complain.

As Emma is walking from study hall to the library, she turns a corner and suddenly feels something smack hard against her, and she staggers backwards, “Shit! Oh my god, I am so sorry!” She instinctively reaches for the person she ran into, even though they didn’t fall over, and she double takes when she meets their gaze and sees Regina smirking at her, dressed like a normal high schooler in what Emma is ninety-nine percent sure are  _ her  _ clothes. 

“Regina? What? What are you doing here? How did you get here? Is that...Is that my shirt? And my jeans? Oh my god, are you wearing my clothes? You’re here, at school, wearing my clothes! Why would you want to come to school? How did you get here again?”

Laughing, Regina puts her hands on Emma’s shoulders, “Emma, calm down. Stop asking so many questions or you’ll blow my cover.”

Emma blinks at her, trying to take it one question at a time. The one she really wants to ask is why she’s wearing Emma’s clothes. Emma is staring at Regina, who is looking extremely casual in jeans and a hoodie, and honestly, it’s hot. Emma blushes and looks away, trying to ask a question that’s  _ actually  _ important. “How did you get here?”

Regina leans towards her, “I have my ways.” Her voice is a major distraction, among other things, but Emma manages to keep her composure. “Are you okay? Your heart is racing.” Regina’s hand runs along Emma’s arm, which does nothing to quell her heart rate.

“Uh. I was just running,” she says, even though she obviously wasn’t. The vampire raises one of her perfect eyebrows, and Emma blushes again, looking down at her feet and taking a deep breath before returning her gaze. “No, but seriously, how did you get here?” Regina shoots her an I’m-not-telling look and Emma groans at her. “You know, as the Slayer, I think it’s important for me to know how vampires can sneak into my high school during the middle of the day.”

“Fine. There are more tunnels underground than you probably know. Several connect to the basement here. It’s really convenient. Besides, my tolerance to sunlight is pretty high, which doesn’t hurt.”

“You can go out in the sun?”

“No, of course not. If I’m in direct sunlight, I’ll turn to dust.”

“But…”

“Look, you know when someone is lactose intolerant, and they suffer when they drink milk or eat too much pizza? But if they just have a little bit, it isn’t as bad?” Emma nods. “If I’m in  _ indirect  _ sunlight it’s like I’m only suffering moderately, but I won’t die. All vampires have different levels of tolerance. If I’m covered up enough, I can kind of get around. Although, it looks really suspicious, and it isn’t very comfortable, and I  _ might  _ have ruined one of your jackets.”

“Oh.”

“That’s it? You’re not mad? You don’t have any more questions?”

“Uh, you’re wearing my clothes.” Regina just shrugs with one shoulder, like it isn’t a big deal at all, and maybe it isn’t, but Emma can’t seem to stop thinking about it. It sure does feel like a big deal based on the way Emma’s heart rate is going. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, for one, I was bored. It was either come here or go home, and I figured we had planning to do, so why not come see you at school?”

“So, you’re like, undercover?” Regina shrugs again. “Alright, well good timing. We’re all meeting up in the library.” Emma starts walking back towards the library, and Regina follows her. Emma snickers, “Wow, you even have a book bag.”

Regina grins, “Well I figured I shouldn’t half ass this whole student thing. Besides, how are we supposed to plan anything without resources? I brought a couple of books from your house, so I hope that’s okay.” Emma snorts, thinking about how ridiculous it is that Regina’s worried about borrowing books that don’t even belong to Emma while she’s wearing clothes that she actually owns like it’s no big deal. “I may have found something.”

The two of them walk into the library and are immediately greeted by three shocked expressions. “Uh, hey, Regina.” Neal says, clearing his throat. 

August half waves at her, squinting. “Is that Emma’s hoodie?”

Emma loudly coughs, trying to divert their attention. She doesn't need the clothes thing coming back up verbally; it's already causing her enough problems as it is. “Guys, stop joking around. Regina's here to research with us, and she has an idea.” She pulls Regina over to the table and puts her stuff down, gesturing for Regina to do the same. 

She sighs and goes to take the seat beside Emma when suddenly the library door swings open, and in walks David with a sandwich and a cup of coffee. He grins at them, “Hey guys! Homework?” His eyes land on Regina and his grin falters, Regina stiffens. 

“Crap, sorry, where are my manners,” Emma says suddenly. “Regina, that's David, our substitute librarian. David, this is Regina. She's, uh, a student. My friend from, uh, Latin class. Yeah. Latin.” Regina shoots her a look that clearly says you-are-a-terrible-liar, and David’s grin slowly comes back. 

He walks over and holds out his hand. “Nice to meet you.” Regina hesitates, but takes his offer, shaking his hand once. She doesn't say anything. Emma thinks the whole thing is weird, but she's pulled from her thoughts by David snickering suddenly. He holds up his sandwich and proudly says, “A ham sandwich walks into a bar, and the bartender says, ‘sorry, we don’t serve food here.’” He lets out a full laugh, and Neal and Emma join him, while the other three just stare. 

“Not your best, David,” August admits. 

David just shrugs as he walks into his office, still chuckling at himself, Emma finds herself asking, “Does he have any kids?”

Ruby shrugs, “I don’t know. Why?”

“I don’t know. He seems like he would be a really great dad.”

Regina suddenly snorts, and everyone turns to look at her. “What?” Emma asks. 

She's clearly trying not to laugh, but she just shakes her head. “It's nothing.” Emma raises an eyebrow, so she adds, “Funny joke. Anyway, I need to talk to you.” She looks cautiously at the closed door to David's office before continuing. 

“Don't worry about David. He's really good about privacy.” Emma gives the vampire a reassuring smile that is reluctantly returned. “Hey, did the uninvitation go okay?”

Regina rolls her eyes, “It's called a revocation spell. And yes, it went fine. Snow won't be able to come into your home anymore.”

“Nice,” August says. “That makes me feel better, especially after what happened last night. Thanks, by the way, for saving Emma.” He shies away from Regina's eyes while he says it, but Emma can hear the genuineness in his voice. 

Regina nods. “I won't let her get hurt.” It's a quiet admission, but it makes Emma’s heart flutter, and she's grateful when Ruby takes the eyes off of her and Regina. 

“Hey, can we do that revocation thing for the school too?”

Neal snorts, “You can't uninvite a vampire from a public building. The school sign says that all are welcome to learn. She's always invited, librarian or not.”

“He's right,” Regina nods. “Just be on guard here, because there  _ are  _ ways for her to show up anytime, though if she's on ‘sabbatical’ I wouldn't worry about her bursting in while school is in attendance, but you can never be too sure.”

They all nod. “Can you tell them about the tunnels? And the lactose intolerance?” Emma asks, and Regina looks at her confused before she realizes what Emma's talking about. 

“There is no lactose, Emma,” she snorts. “Anyway, there are tunnels under the town, which makes it easier for vampires to get around if they're up during the day. Some lead into the school basement.”

“Don't forget the lactose--”

“Emma, really?” She rolls her eyes and continues, “Vampires can survive in indirect sunlight to an extent, depending on their circumstances-- positioning, layers, etcetera-- and the level of their sunlight tolerance. Mine is high. I don't know anything about Snow’s, but considering that she works a day job, it’s probably high as well. Anyway, before I came here, I was doing some research, and I've figured a few things out, if you want to hear them.” But suddenly the bell rings, indicating the end of lunch. 

August grins apologetically. “Sorry, time for class. We'll talk about it later. You guys can brainstorm during Emma's library period and get back to us. We can reconvene after school.” He shrugs, and Emma's three friends leave the room quickly. 

“They don't trust me, do they?” And Emma isn't sure what to say. She goes to rest her hand on Regina's knee as a way of comfort, but stops when she remembers what happened last night, the electricity when they touched. 

Instead she opts for words, a near inaudible “ _ I _ trust you.”

Regina gives her a small smile. “You know, it's okay if you don't.” They're silent for another minute, the next sound being the bell indicating the start of class. Regina's looks to Emma curiously. “Don't you have class?” 

“Uh, I'm in class. This is my library period. They made me librarian assistant, but there's never anything David needs me for cause I only have this period because Snow knew she was my Watcher. So it's basically like a second study hall. We have all period to talk if you want to tell me about what you found. And I can even skip gym if we need more time. David can write me a pass.”

“Alright.” Regina opens her bookbag and pulls out one of Snow’s books. “I was thinking about how she lost her soul from true love. Remember I told you that a vampire can  _ earn  _ their soul from true love? Well, we may be able to help Snow earn her soul back.”

Emma sits straight up in her chair, excited by the idea. “Really? That would be great! We wouldn't have to kill her, and she could earn her soul once and for all, right?”

“Right.” Regina hesitates. 

“Oh, no. There's a but isn't there? Please don't tell me there's a but!”

With a sigh, the vampire continues, “There  _ may  _ be a but.”

“Not a but!” Emma giggles, and Regina rolls her eyes, keeping her lips sealed. “Sorry, I know, I’m really immature. Anyway, what’s the but?”

Regina fights back a smile. “It’s not a big issue or anything, it’s just that there are a lot of ways this could work, but I’m not sure which would be effective. Not many people have researched this, since most vampires are pleased to be soulless, and most don’t fall in love. So we may have to test this out with multiple scenarios.”

“Like what? Obviously the mother-daughter true love isn’t an option, since it’s technically my fault she’s evil.”

“You’re right, but you could still play a major factor in this. We can’t rule you out of scenarios either, but yours may not be our first choice.”

Emma nods, “Alright, so can you tell me what the scenarios are?”

Regina opens her (Emma’s) bookbag and pulls out a notebook. “I made a list, if you want to read it over.”

She takes it from the vampire's hands and reads it.  _ One: finding Snow’s true love, Emma’s father and reuniting them. Two: trying to bring back Snow’s motherly true love for Emma. Three: using the fatherly true love between Emma and her father by reuniting them somehow and exposing Snow to their family love. Four: finding a new true love for Snow if we can’t find Emma’s father. Five: finding a true love for Emma and showing Snow the true happiness of her daughter. Six: exposing Snow to true love in general to remind her that she has it (or has had it) too.  _ When she’s finished, she glances up at Regina, “Uh, so some of these are kind of a stretch.”

Regina rolls her eyes, nodding. “Yeah, I realize, but I was trying to be thorough.”

“Okay, well, I think that almost all of them are unlikely, for different reasons. I mean, Snow isn’t going to earn her soul from the same love that took it from her, and I doubt we’re going to get her to fall in love with someone, and I don’t even know where we would find my father.”

“What about you?”

“Me?” Emma squeaks.

Regina nods, seriously asking. “The fifth idea.”

“Uh, for one, I don’t think me falling in love would benefit Snow. Not to mention, I’d need a person to fall in love with, and it’s not like I have a line of suitors or a lot of self-understanding.”

“What does self-understanding have to do with this?”

Emma blushes furiously, looking away. “Never mind, it isn’t important. What is important is that number six is pretty vague, so we should keep that one in mind, and number one is probably the best idea. If we can find my father that is. I guess we’ll have to do some scheming.”

Regina nods, staring off into space. “I guess we will.” 

The two are quiet for a moment until Emma can’t stand the small, tense silence anymore. “This ‘true love’ thing is kind of cool. I like that vampires can redeem themselves somehow. I know I’m the Slayer, and I should hate all vampires, but I don’t, and I’m not sure I could.”

“Mhmm,” is all Regina says. The silence comes back.

“Hey, Regina, do you remember having a soul?” 

Regina blinks, pulled from her thoughts, clearly thrown by the question. “What?”

“Sorry, I know it’s really personal, but I was just wondering. It sometimes occurs to me that I’ve never heard your side of the story, and I’d like to change that.” Emma offers her a hesitant smile before looking away. “You don’t have to tell me, but if you ever want to talk about it, I’m more than willing to listen.”

The vampire shakes her head, “It’s fine. It’s just… no one ever asks for my side. I think most people forget that I used to be human. They learn one major thing about my backstory, what makes me who I am, and they assume that I’ve always been evil.”

“Why would they think that?”

“Emma, I know you’ve read it in one of these books--”

“Tell me. I want to hear it from you.”

“My mother.”

* * *

 

_ For as long as Regina could remember, she’d known about the existence of vampires. It was something that her mother Cora had always taught her, and while most kids would get bedtime stories with dragon slaying heroes and animal friendships, Regina would get stories about the strength of vampires and methods of self defense.  _

_ Cora was insistent that Regina knew as much about vampires as possible, as early as she could, and the information Regina had on them only grew the more she did. Bedtime stories became real life vampires to look out for, which became self defense lessons. _

_ Regina trusted her mother with all that she had, and it had never occurred to Regina that Cora would ever lie to her, until she turned sixteen. “Regina, darling, there’s something important I’ve been meaning to tell you,” Cora said to her, at her birthday dinner, turning everything back to her, just as she always did. _

_ “Yes, Mother?” _

_ Cora sighed deeply. “This is going to be hard for you to hear, but it’s very crucial that you hear me out. I need you to remember that I love you dearly, and nothing could ever change that.” Regina nodded, feeling like she ought to panic, but remained calm. She trusted her mother. “I’m a vampire, dear.” _

_ Regina’s eyes widened, she hadn’t seen that coming. “W-what?” _

_ With a roll of her eyes, Cora said, “Please tell me I’m not going to have to repeat myself to you all night. I’m only going to explain this to you once, Regina. I’m a vampire, have been for years, even before you were born. Haven’t you ever wondered why I’ve always looked exactly the same? Why I order my steaks rare if I order food at all? How I know so much about vampires?” _

_ Regina blinked, completely stunned. “I always thought it was from research, or because you had faced so many vampires.” _

_ Cora scoffed at her daughter, “I  _ have  _ come up against many vampires in my day and have learned greatly from them. But there is a reason why I never raised you to believe that vampires were inherently evil. Because I am one of them. Now, you must accept that. It just won’t do for this to ruin your image of me.” _

_ Really, Regina was too shocked to consider that she couldn’t or shouldn’t trust her mother anymore. Her response was automatic. “Of course not mother.” _

_ “Good girl. Now, do you have any questions for me?” _

_ Regina only had one, and she didn’t know she had it until it slipped out of her mouth. “Why?” Cora hummed in response, taking a long sip of her wine before answering. _

_ “I’m assuming you’re asking me why I became a vampire, because that’s the only reasonable question, and the only answer I’m willing to share with you right now. I wanted eternal beauty and never ending youth, so I sought out a former… let’s say, colleague of mine. He had the perfect solution and no problem in siring me.” _

_ “But how could I have been born? If you’re a vampire?” _

_ Cora tutted at her daughter. “Regina, dear. I told you I wasn’t going to share anything else with you. You’ll find out one day, but I’m not willing to discuss that with you now. Trust me, darling. There are ways, and if you’re doubting that I’m your real mother because I’m undead, you best think again.” _

_ Needless to say it was one of Regina’s more memorable birthdays. _

_ Birthdays always stood out to Regina as significant. Those were the days in which big things happened. Between finding out her mother was a vampire and falling in love, she accepted the grandiosity of February the first, and the way it always meant something to her. _

_ His name was Daniel, and she met him on her twentieth birthday, when she began a Tai Chi class her mother encouraged her to sign up for, offering to pay for it as her birthday gift. She had been hesitant about the class until  _ he  _ walked in and she suddenly believed in both the class and love at first sight. She spent the whole first class working up the courage to talk to him, but by the end of it, he was the one to approach her, and they made plans to go out to dinner after next week’s class.  _

_ They spent several months flirting and beating around the bush, until finally one day, they sealed the deal with a kiss. However, Regina knew her mother would never approve of Daniel so she kept their relationship a secret. They were in love, so Daniel was fine with it. They valued every minute together, and found excuses to sneak around Regina’s mother without her so much as suspecting. _

_ Regina’s twenty-first birthday was another big one. Her mother took her out to dinner where they both ordered wine, and Cora waited until Regina was on her second glass before admitting that dinner wasn’t Regina’s birthday gift. “Dear, you can consider this for as long as you need to, but this offer will be your only birthday gift until you decide to accept it.” _

_ Immediately, Regina was skeptical. “What is it?” She hesitantly asked her mother. _

_ “I want to give you the gift of being young and beautiful and alive forever. I want you to be like me.”  _

_ Somehow it was exactly what Regina had been expecting as well as the furthest thing from her mind. Ever since she was sixteen and her mother told her the truth about what she was and why she chose that life, Regina had feared that this day would come, and she knew that when it did, Cora would never take no for an answer. But she would have to. The last thing Regina wanted to do was hurt her mother, but she had to fight for her own autonomy, her own life. “I’d hardly call being a vampire living, Mother. Who’s to say I want to be undead, or that I won’t have a full life as a human or that I won’t be beautiful forever?” Her voice came out more defensive than she anticipated, but it was too late to sound any different. _

_ “Oh, don’t be so naive, Regina. You and I both know that you will one day grow old and wrinkly, and you’ll be ugly. Just like every other human being. You will wither away and die. But if you let me, you can die and be born again, beautiful and young forever.” _

_ Regina scoffed, “Mother, I don’t want that. I don’t want to be a vampire. I will never want to be a vampire.” And it was the truth. Regina couldn’t think of a single thing more undesirable than becoming a vampire, especially not for the vain reasons Cora sought it. Ultimately, Cora’s need to sire Regina and bring her to her ways was more selfish than anything, and it made the entire situation even more unappealing to Regina. _

_ It was obvious that Cora wasn’t pleased. “Let me know when you’ve come to make the correct decision.” At that, Cora had whisked her way out of the restaurant, leaving Regina to pay for her own birthday meal. They didn’t speak of this again for another two years. _

_ If you had asked Regina that night who changed her life forever, she would have said it was Daniel. In a small way, she wouldn’t have been wrong, but she would have been far from right. The day she met the person who truly changed her life forever wasn’t a birthday, it was just a normal day, and she wasn’t expecting anything to happen. _

_ She was at Daniel’s apartment, wrapped in his arms as they watched a movie. They didn’t have to sneak around as much now that Regina was technically an adult, but they weren’t willing to take too many risks, because Cora was so stubborn and manipulative, and Regina had no doubt that she would tear Daniel from her arms if she ever found out about him. _

_ That night they had discussed options. Their best plan being to elope when the time was right, potentially on Regina’s birthday, when she knew all the big moments of her life would occur. When Regina left that night, she felt so in love, so full of hope. She felt like she could do anything, slay vampires, take on her mother, marry the man she loved. She left later than she usually would have, what with their impromptu wedding planning and all, but that night it didn’t seem to matter what time she left.  _

_ She had hardly stepped out the door when she saw a dog running towards her, yapping and growling, running a little ways across the street and then back to her. Regina knew enough about animals to know that this one was trying to warn her. She looked across the street, letting the dog guide her eyes to a dimly lit alley. There were two figures, one on the ground and one hovering above, and Regina was running over there as fast as her legs would carry her. _

_ When she got there, the larger figure was hovering over a young girl, about to sink his teeth into her neck, essentially proving his subspecies, and she was more than thankful she had the right weapon on her. The miniature crossbow Cora gave her on her thirteenth birthday wouldn’t be the most ideal form of defense against a regular human. She’s run into more vampires on the streets than muggers, which is great because vampires need to be killed, while muggers need to be jailed. A vampire could be defeated by her alone, no cops necessary.  _

_ Regina grabbed the man by the back of his shirt and yanked him backwards before pinning him to the ground. She didn’t hesitate to fire the crossbow into his chest, turning him into dust and immediately moving to help the young girl up. She couldn’t imagine how scared she must be. The girl looked to be about twelve or thirteen, and by the panic in her eyes, Regina guessed this was her first vampire. She held out her hand, and the girl took it immediately, eyes full of blind trust. “Hey, sweetie, are you okay?”  _

_ “Y-yeah. I’m okay. I think.” _

_ Regina didn’t let go of the girl’s hand as she led her into the light of the street. She wasn’t sure where the girl lived, but she wasn’t going to let her go until she knew the girl felt safe and  _ was  _ safe in the comfort of her own home. “I’m glad you’re okay. I was leaving my friend’s apartment when I heard a dog growling towards the alley. She led me over here to you.” Immediately Regina turned to look for the dog, who was already by the girl’s side, wagging his tail happily at her. _

_ “Princess!” The girl released Regina’s hand in favor of hugging the dog, and Regina’s heart melted. “Thank you so much! You’re the best dog in the world. My favorite girl.” The girl and her dog certainly were quite the team, and Regina beamed down at them, grateful that nothing bad had happened to either. The girl stood back up, grinning at Regina, “Ma’am, I can’t thank you enough for saving me.” _

_ She smiled down at the girl, “Please, call me Regina.” _

_ “Thank you, Regina. My name is Mary Margaret, but you can call me Snow.” Snow’s smile faltered, her forehead creasing in worry. For a moment, Regina was worried she was going to faint. _

_ “Snow? Are you okay?” She watched as Snow’s eyes shifted to the small crossbow in Regina’s hand. She quickly put it away, not sure if she should expose Snow to the truth or try and evade it. She had a feeling that this girl was too smart, so she decided on the truth, she looked to be old enough to handle it after all, and she had every right to know what really attacked her. “It’s for protection. I know what just happened must be scary for you in a lot of ways, so if you’d like, I can walk you home and I’ll explain it all to you.”  _

_ She hoped that Snow would agree to it because she didn’t like the idea of leaving the girl alone at night after the events that had just transpired, and when the girl nodded to her, she let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. Snow took her hand again, and Regina didn’t start to talk until the girl led her forward towards her home.  _

_ Regina didn’t tell her everything. She aimed to recreate some of her mother’s earliest bedtime stories, except that in the one she told Snow, she told her about how the Slayer was the hero, and the vampires were evil, soulless creatures. “To become a vampire would be the worst curse imaginable.” _

_ Snow looked up at her, eyes wide, “I don’t want to become a vampire.” _

_ Smiling down at her, Regina gave her hand a squeeze, “Don’t worry dear, I’m sure you’ll never have to worry about that.” _

_ Pretty soon, the two stopped in front of a rather large house, just off the street. The young girl turned to Regina, her smile bright, “Thank you so much again for saving my life, and for telling me about all this stuff. I think you’re the sweetest woman I’ve ever known, after my mother.” Snow’s smile faded. “But I guess that makes you the sweetest woman alive.” _

_ Regina’s heart broke for the young girl in front of her. The only thing she wanted was for the girl to be both safe and happy, so she met her at eye level, making every motion to comfort her, giving her every reassurance that Snow was just as fortunate as she thought to have had a mother that she loved and was more than proud of. When they hugged, Regina felt whole, in a different way than she did with Daniel, but in a way she knew she could get used to.  _

_ “Hey, I have an idea,” she suddenly found herself saying, “Maybe I could give you defense lessons. In case you’re ever in that situation again?” The grin on Snow's face was a good enough answer for her, so she scribbled down her home number for the young girl. “Talk to your father, and see what he thinks. You don’t have to tell him about the vampires, it can just be normal self defense.” Snow promised she would call before closing the door behind her, and Regina walked home, feeling fulfilled by the promise of love and the confidence of safety. She really believed she could do anything. _

_ It only took a week for that to fall apart.  _

_ Snow’s father had called the day after the incident to speak with Regina, but unfortunately, Cora had answered, eating up every one of the man’s words, recognizing him immediately as Leopold Snow, the CEO of a major company, and making plans, not just for Regina to teach the young Snow self defense, but also to have a date with the much older man. _

_ Her lessons with Snow were the best part of the arrangement, as Regina loved spending time with the young girl, teaching her how to protect herself. The second best part was that Leopold had her move in with them, which meant she was closer to Daniel’s apartment, not to mention, she wasn’t on as tight a leash with the man as she was with her mother. However, it became harder and harder to see a way out of this without hurting Snow or angering her mother, who was also becoming quite attached to Regina’s new family (as attached as the soulless woman could be anyway).  _

_ Regina kept telling herself it would be fine. In the end, she and Daniel could elope and all this nonsense her mother was putting her through would be worth it, but she had no idea it would ever get to the point that it did. As it turned out, Leopold had gone to Cora for permission to marry her daughter, and Cora had ensured the commitment for her. _

_ The night before he planned to ask, Cora confronted Regina, all but pinning her down to a chair in her office, “Leopold is proposing to you, and you’re going to say yes.” _

_ The proposal didn’t exactly come as a total shock to Regina, but she hadn’t expected her mother’s involvement in the entire affair. “What? But Mother, I don’t  _ want  _ to marry him.” _

_ “Did I ask you what you wanted?” _

_ Regina hesitated before continuing, knowing her mother was about to make this far more difficult than it needed to be. “No, you didn’t but…” _

_ “Regina, stop it. There are no buts. You  _ are  _ going to marry this man. He is rich and kind. He will make for a good husband. Once you marry him, I expect you’ll reconsider my offer, to remain young and beautiful. That way you can ditch him when he gets too old and go on with your life to someone younger and richer than he.” _

_ She scoffed at her mother, “Stop it, you’re being ridiculous. I don’t love him, and I don’t want to become a vampire. I never will. I told you this already.” _

_ “Yes, and I didn’t listen. This isn’t about what you want dear. If you do not marry this man, I will sire you immediately, and you’ll regret ever having turned away. “ _

_ “You’ll turn me anyways, even if I do marry him.” _

_ Cora shook her head. “You have my word Regina. I will let you remain human so long as you marry him. I will only change you if you refuse or ask me to.” Regina told her mother yes just to shut her up. However, that night, she fled to Daniel, in tears over being blackmailed to marry a man she could never love. The two decided that they needed to elope sooner rather than later, and to evade the wrath of Cora, Regina would accept the proposal, which would provide direction for Daniel to plan their escape.  _

_ A week after the proposal, Regina discovered she was pregnant. _

_ There was not a doubt in Regina’s mind whose baby it was, and a week later, she and the baby’s father would be leaving Boston. _

_ That night, Regina found herself inconsolable, sobbing in Leopold’s home alone, and she didn’t consider expressing her emotions so openly a risk until the door opened and Snow walked in. She immediately rushed over to Regina, worried. “Regina? What’s wrong? Is everything okay?” She managed to stop crying for a moment before looking back to Snow, eyes so full of love and concern that Regina’s heart broke. If Leopold was just a man without such a wonderful daughter, she could leave and never look back, but that wasn’t the case. “You can tell me anything.” _

_ Regina was torn. She looked into the chocolate brown eyes in front of her and saw all the love and care she never saw in her mother. She saw someone who loved her and would do  _ anything  _ if it meant Regina could be happy. She knew better than to tell anyone about Daniel, but maybe that’s why she was in her current situation. Maybe she’d been silent about her love long enough. So she took a deep breath and began to speak. _

_ “Do you remember that night I saved you? And I was only over there because I was with one of my friends?” Snow nodded. “His name is Daniel. I’ve been in love with him for years, but my mother would never approve, so I’ve kept him a secret.” She tore her eyes away from Snow, not daring to see her reaction to Regina’s confession. “I still love him, despite being engaged to your father. But it’s too late.” When her voice broke and the tears only slipped from her eyes more, she looked up to Snow, surprised to see the young girl’s eyes filled with silent tears as well.  _

_ “If you love him then you should be with him. I would love to have you as my stepmother, but I’ll be here no matter what. True love might not be.” Snow pulled Regina into a hug, which Regina gratefully returned. She knew the young girl was mature, but she never could have anticipated so much from someone so young. She knew that opening up to Snow was one of her better decisions. “Follow your heart.” _

_ “Thank you, Snow.” But she couldn’t have known. _

_ A week later, Regina had a small bag of her belongings by her side as she approached Daniel’s apartment, wearing the largest smile. She let herself in with the key that Daniel had given to her months ago, and she was so elated, she didn’t feel the dread wafting through the apartment. “Daniel?” She called out to him, leaving her stuff by the door, taking off her coat as she stepped through the house. _

_ When she stepped into the kitchen, her smile fell immediately as her eyes landed on Daniel, gagged and strapped to a chair, eyes full of panic, fear, and concern. “Hello, dear.” An unexpected party spoke, lips turning upward out of habit more so than emotion. _

_ “Mother,” Regina’s voice was hoarse, but she didn’t bother to clear her throat. “What are you doing here?” _

_ “You didn’t really think you could keep something like this from me did you?” Cora stepped around Daniel towards her daughter. Regina kept her eyes locked on Daniel’s as they filled with tears. _

_ “How did you find out?” _

_ Cora sighed, “It doesn’t matter, darling. What matters is that I put an end to this. You are to marry Leopold a week from today, and I will not have you screwing this up. The man is rich. He can provide for you. I hardly think that this boy is worth your time.” Cora stepped back towards Daniel, lightly dragging her nails down the side of his face. _

_ “Don’t hurt him!” Regina yelled, suddenly taking a defensive step towards her mother. _

_ Cora released an emotionless laugh. “Oh, Regina.  _ I’m _ not going to hurt him….  _ You  _ are.” _

_ In that flash of a moment before Cora’s hands gripped around her arms and knocked her into the counter, Regina’s heart was so full of sorrow and desperation that she was sure it would burst, and then suddenly it did. Everything was dark and painful and empty. Regina’s heart felt like it was being torn from her body as her vision went red and her blood ran cold. _

_ All she could think was that she needed to fill herself back up as she felt something draining from her and she vaguely recognized her body as it shivered and sought out a solution, nothing else mattered but bringing the light back, but it never came. It was a cackle that brought Regina back to her senses, loud and clear, her eyes opened and she was surprised to be in the same room she was a minute ago, only it looked bleaker, bluer. It was colder, almost lifeless. _

_ Regina  _ felt _ lifeless. Everything inside her was still and quiet as though she were frozen. The room was a void around her, and she was a void within it. She felt something warm and wet drip from her lips, and she jumped at the sensation of it, licking her lips out of instinct and feeling a pang of satisfaction at doing so. One by one, Regina’s senses returned to her, and she looked down in shock when she realized she was gripping something heavy and slack. _

_ It was Daniel’s body. _

_ Regina blinked at it, recognizing it for what it was: dead, blood drained by a vampire. She remembered her fears from what seemed like just moments ago. She remembered her heart swelling in anguish at the thought of her mother killing her lover. But now, as she looked down at his body, she just felt hollow. _

_ Another cackle rang through the kitchen once more and Regina’s head snapped up, meeting her mother’s gaze. “Well done, dear. That was even better than I had hoped it would be.” _

_ Regina growled, dropping Daniel’s body and lunging towards Cora, hands around her throat before Daniel’s body could hit the floor, and when it did, his head made a sickening crack against the linoleum. Regina didn’t even flinch. “What have you done?” _

_ Cora only smiled, “What I’ve always wanted to do.” Her eyes flickered to Regina’s neck, triggering Regina to take a step back and reach for the spot. She touched it and immediately felt the dried blood. Her other hand moved over her heart, but she felt nothing but cold beneath her hand, and finally the void within her was no longer inexplicable. Cora had made her a vampire. _

_ The place where Regina had once felt her soul was now so empty she could break. She didn’t feel the loss of Daniel or the loss of love, but the loss of feeling loss. She recognized that everything she once felt had been stolen from inside her, and she looked at Daniel’s lifeless body and shivered at how broken she didn’t feel. She loved him, and she should feel heartbreak. She looked at Cora, and it was as though nothing had changed. She felt the same, if anything, more resentful. “I never loved you,” Regina murmured. “You took away my soul. You stole the capability of love right from my body, but when I look at you, I haven’t lost anything I ever felt towards you.” _

_ Cora opened her mouth to speak, but Regina wasn’t finished. “Don’t. You betrayed me. I told you I didn’t want this, but you did it anyway. And for what? It’s not like I could actually love you. I no longer have a soul. It’s not like I could be grateful. You took away my life. You made me kill the man I love, and you want me to continue living with Leopold and Snow to what? Make them happy? I can’t make them happy if I can no longer feel. The  _ only  _ thing I feel is resentment and anger. If you wanted me to hate you, you’ve more than succeeded.” _

_ Cora hummed, “Regina, you should always remember what I told you growing up. Love is weakness.” Regina hardly had time to process that thought with her new lack of emotion before she found herself doubling over in pain, and she smelled the blood before she felt it running down her legs.  _ Daniel’s baby _. Her mother had destroyed yet another life, and even though Regina felt no sorrow for the loss of the fetus, she choked out a dry sob, not wanting to believe that she could really be this cold. Cora cocked her head, looking down at her daughter. “Oh dear. I hadn’t realized you were with child. I do hope it wasn’t Leopold’s.” _

_ Glaring up at her mother, Regina managed to stand once again. “It was Daniel’s,” she admitted through bared teeth. _

_ “Ah.” Cora gave another empty smile. “Well, not to worry, dear. There are ways to still bear life if you so desire. There’s no need to tear yourself up about it. How do you think I managed to have you?” _

_ “You never told me.” _

_ Cora cackled, “Oh, silly me. I always meant to tell you about your birthright, though I thought I should wait until you were ready. When you would be able to truly feel the weight of who you are, and now that your soul is gone, there isn’t a more perfect time.”  _

_ She walked around to the other side of the kitchen island to sit, patting the stool next to her for Regina to join her. “I’d rather stand.” _

_ “Suit yourself. I mean, I suppose the story isn’t terribly long. Where should I begin… oh, that’s right. Henry isn’t your father, not biologically anyway.” _

_ If Regina’s heart still worked, it would have shattered. “What are you talking about?” _

_ “I married him for his wealth, and of course, I was already a vampire, so when I decided to have a child, I had no idea that it wouldn’t work. After months, I sought out a long time friend, Rumple, who laughed at me for being so foolish, and he told me that the only way to conceive a child as a vampire was through true love. Well, I laughed and told  _ him  _ to stop being foolish. I could never be in love, especially not with Henry. _

_ “Now, Henry didn’t know I was a vampire. He still has no idea. So there was no way I could discuss this with him, so I went behind his back, seeking out a loophole. Eventually we found one. I would be able to conceive a child with a vampire just as dark as myself, creating a baby not through true love, but true hate. _

_ “He introduced me to a man named Hades, who was a pureblood vampire, one of the first to exist and one of the most formidable. There was no love within him. Like me, he was truly soulless. I’m not sure if you know this, Regina dear, but I‘ve never possessed a soul. Not even in my human life. So together, Hades and I were able to copulate and create life out of hate. That is your birthright, Regina. You are the product of true evil.” _

_ Regina’s instinct was to laugh. Her mother sounded ridiculous. But the look of satisfaction in Cora’s cold eyes, the closest she would probably ever come to expressing joy, told Regina that this wasn’t something to laugh at, and the emptiness Regina now felt was even further proof that Cora was right.  _

_ She felt as though her cold blood was boiling within her, the only emotions she seemed to be capable of were rage and hatred, both directed towards the woman in front of her. The woman who both gave her life and then stole it right back. It would be too easy to hold a grudge against her mother, to hate her for the rest of her life and reject her from her existence entirely, but Regina wasn’t looking for easy.  _

_ She was looking for revenge. _

_ A sly smile slipped across Regina’s lips as she slid around the counter towards her mother, stepping over Daniel’s body. “You really wanted me to have my best chance,” Regina said, sarcastic in a way her mother didn’t register. She smiled at Regina, eyes full of mock love, something that Cora could only replicate, and it was clearer than ever that Cora never once felt love for her, and soul or not, Regina could never love her either. _

_ “I only want what’s best for you, dear.” _

_ “Me too.” Regina spread her arms out to Cora, hoping her mother would take the bait and go to return the hug. Luckily, Cora did and Regina didn’t hesitate to close the distance between them, but instead of wrapping her arms around the older woman’s body, she coiled her hands around her neck. Although Cora didn’t need air, she gasped for it under Regina’s grip. Bending towards Cora’s ear, Regina hissed, “This is what’s best for me, Mother.” She used her new strength to snap her mother’s neck, sighing when she felt the dust of her mother’s remains slipping through her fingers. _

_ She took the time to change and clean herself up before stepping out into the night and returning home. It looked like she would be marrying Leopold after all. _

_ Regina tried her best to act normal around Snow and her father, so as not to raise suspicions, but her sudden aversion to the daytime, lack of desire to eat, and her tendency to leave during the night was hard to mask. It was around this time Regina learned of her high tolerance to sunlight, which meant she could find ways around acting like a total recluse and she didn’t need to buy blackout curtains for Leopold’s entire house. If he or Snow noticed anything unusual with Regina, they never said anything. _

_ Finally the wedding day arrived, and Snow was thrilled to be able to help Regina prepare herself for the big ceremony as her maid of honor. Regina didn’t exactly have many options for the position, but she knew once the wedding was actually happening that she would choose Snow. The girl always looked at her as Regina once had at her own mother. And although Regina couldn’t feel the joy or the love anymore, she made it a priority to try harder to fake it in front of Snow. Not letting the young girl down was her first priority. _

_ Regina did her best to give Snow a genuine, loving smile as the girl looked up at her. She had just put on her dress and Snow couldn’t stop gushing about how beautiful she looked. Something in Snow’s eyes looked troubled though, and Regina thought better than to ask.  _

_ Snow spoke up anyway. “Why are you still marrying my father?” Regina’s mind flashed back to telling Snow about Daniel. It wasn’t confirmed that Snow was taking the conversation in this direction, but in case she wasn’t, Regina thought it best to remain ignorant. _

_ “What do you mean? We’ve been engaged for months now. You know this.” She was irritated, and it showed. But if Snow could pick up on that, she could take the hint and not interrogate any further. Though Regina knew better. Snow was too curious for her own good. _

_ Regina stared down Snow, willing her not to ask the question. “Don’t you still love Daniel?” For a moment, Regina didn’t even know what to say. She was trying to remain sweet to Snow who couldn’t possibly have known better. She was looking out for the woman after all. However, the entire subject left Regina heated and annoyed, and she had to turn away from Snow to hide the fire in her eyes. It was important to give Snow a human reaction to this question, rather than a vampire response. To Snow, this would be just another part of life, whereas to Regina, it was nothing but death and ruin. _

_ Regina could hear Snow shifting uncomfortably in the silence. She composed herself before turning back to Snow, sitting on the sofa beside her. This could become a useful life lesson for the girl, so when she spoke, it was as true as she could have made it. “Daniel is gone. He betrayed me, and I cannot love someone who has betrayed me.”  _

_ “But he was your true love! He was supposed to be your happy ending!”  _

Happy endings _ , Regina scoffed. She had wanted to believe in those before, but she certainly didn’t anymore, and if protecting Snow meant shattering her belief in a happy ending, then so be it. It wouldn’t be fun, but she needed to learn sooner rather than later. “Don’t be ridiculous, Mary Margaret, you know it doesn’t always work like that. Happy endings are for fairy tales. They aren’t real. What I had with Daniel was never supposed to happen.” _

_ “Yes it was!” Snow insisted. “It  _ was  _ supposed to happen. You said your mother would never approve, but when I talked to her about it, told her about how happy he made you, she smiled at me and told me that she would do whatever it took for you to be happy, just like I knew she would. Just like my mother would have done for me, and just like you--” Snow stopped short when her eyes landed on Regina’s. She felt the anger pooling inside her just as it had the day Cora sired her, everything suddenly falling into place. Snow was the reason all of this had happened. “What’s wrong?” Snow asked, panic in her voice _

_ “I’ve taught you a lot of things over the past few months, but here’s one more thing, and it’s the most important thing of all. You can never trust  _ anyone _.” It was a lesson they both learned that day. _

_ The wedding was beautiful. It was large and fancy, everything Cora would have loved, and smiles were evident on everyone’s faces. Snow looked dazed, somehow picking up that something was wrong like she should have done earlier that day, and Regina did her best to smile for the whole ceremony. As she walked down the aisle, as she said her vows, as she brought her lips to Leopold’s, all she could think about was how she was going to get revenge on Snow. It couldn’t possibly be as simple as snapping her neck like she did to Cora. It had to be about taking away everything the young girl holds dear, just like what happened to her. _

_ After the wedding, Regina and Snow stopped talking, and Regina stopped pretending to care for the younger girl. It became natural for Snow to avoid Regina, and every time Snow came home and darted past Regina to go up to her room, she smirked.  _

_ Regina knew Snow was going to be the Slayer before it happened, and the night that it did, Regina waited for her arrival home to see if Snow would confide in her. She did. Their conversation was far more telling than Regina had expected it to be, and she had forgotten that Slayers had prophetic dreams, but Snow didn’t need to know that  _ or _ that Regina was a vampire. So she confirmed what Snow already knew herself and encouraged her to forget the rest.  _

_ Snow’s Watcher came into her life, and her Slayer training began. If anything, it made Regina want her revenge even more, and she got careless. She thought that hiding her vampire identity was best for the situation, but it became difficult when Snow and Herc began to do nightly patrols, directly affecting Regina’s kills and hunts for food. They soon picked up on her trail, deducing that there was a ruthless vampire in town, but they weren’t quiet about their plans when they talked at home.  _

_ The night came where they decided to track this ‘mystery vampire,’ and Regina knew where they were going to look first. Her plan was simple. Attack them before they were prepared, injure Snow so she couldn’t fight, kill Herc without Snow knowing that it was Regina that killed him, and have her blame herself for Herc’s death, believing she could have prevented it. _

_ It started off well, but Herc had too much time in between Snow getting knocked to the ground, and he was able to defend himself against Regina’s attack. The two had never met in person, which Regina was grateful for. She fled, hoping that he didn’t get a good enough look to recognize her when that day ultimately arrived. _

_ At home, Regina waited out in the living room, finding it necessary to see how bad Snow’s damage was and if Herc would recognize her. She was disappointed on all counts when Snow was faring quite well, and Herc not only recognized her, but announced her vampire identity to Snow. But she played the part, making sure to sneer in their direction. Denial never looked good on anyone. _

_ To Regina’s surprise, Snow defended her. Accusing her beloved Watcher of insinuating that her stepmother, a woman she had hardly spoken with in years, a woman who treated her as if she wasn’t there, was a vampire. Snow looked angry on Regina’s behalf, and for a moment Regina felt almost sorry, but she couldn’t feel, and even if she could, she wouldn’t. Snow had ruined her life, and forgiveness from Regina was something Snow would never see. _

_ When Herc yelled at Snow for her ignorance and opened her eyes to the truth she had been denying for years, Regina was floored at the emotion in Snow’s eyes. She looked desperately to Regina, almost begging her to deny it. The blind faith she had in the woman that Regina hadn’t been in years was dissipating, and Regina felt hollow, like becoming a vampire all over again. For a brief moment, she wanted to go back to that day where she saved Snow’s life, and the young girl looked at her like she could do no wrong. But of course, everything was wrong and Regina couldn’t feel remorse or nostalgia, not really anyways.  _

_ When she admitted the truth, she could almost hear the sound of Snow’s heart breaking, and it reminded her that Snow was the subject of a revenge fantasy she hadn’t planned out yet. She didn’t need to feel kindness, and she didn’t need to miss the love they had once shared. _

_ When Snow asked Herc to leave, when she sat down next to Regina, when she reached out, not expressing anger but concern, Regina felt something flicker inside her that she hadn’t felt since becoming a vampire. It was almost like actual emotion, and it threw her for a moment as she tried to explore what it was, but when she met Snow’s worried eyes, the same eyes Snow gave her the night she opened up about Daniel, the flicker went away, replaced by the hollow and futile anger Regina was used to, and it was only made worse by Snow’s empty promise. She really expected Regina to trust her, to open up to her? _

_ She knew her hate became clear that night, and she watched Snow nearly break as she yelled at her. Snow didn’t understand, which even Regina could admit was unfair, but it hardly mattered. Snow had no right to understand what happened to Regina because she wouldn’t suffer. She would only be sympathetic and apologize, which just wasn’t good enough for Regina. After she stormed off that night, something occurred to Regina, and she spent the next week planning out a near perfect revenge plan, or at least the start of one. Now it was only a waiting game. _

_ And wait she did. _

_ It was almost unbearable. But Regina travelled, finding ways to distract herself for months on end. True, she was preoccupied with revenge on Snow, but she wasn’t about to become obsessed with it, especially not for seven years, that would only drive her mad. Eventually Snow became entirely unafraid of Regina, the seven years of distance from her finding out Regina’s true identity and living out those years with no incident allowed Snow to settle into the idea that Regina wasn't actually dangerous. It made the plan even better. _

_ Finally, it was time.  _

_ It was the day before Snow’s twenty-third birthday, the same age Regina would be for the rest of her life, all thanks to Snow, and the young girl was expected to arrive home late that night. She sent Leopold texts every so often, updating him on her location, and it was when she announced they were an hour away that Regina put her plan into action. _

_ Leopold was wrapping Snow’s birthday present in their bedroom. “I plan to give this to her at midnight. I’m so glad she’s going to be here in time.” _

_ “Me too,” Regina snarled back before knocking her husband out and tying him to the bed. She prepared some ropes for Herc, who she would hopefully have time to get to before Snow found her. Regina acknowledged all the ways in which tonight could go wrong, but somehow she felt as though it would go as anticipated. Herc was intuitive and protective. She was sure he would sense that something was wrong in the way the house was so quiet and still, the same way Snow’s heart would be by the time Regina had acted out her plan. She had no doubt in her mind that Herc would search the house ahead of Snow, even though she was certainly the stronger of the two.  _

_ Luckily, that was exactly what happened. She ran into Herc in the upstairs hallway, and immediately gagged him so he couldn’t cry out for Snow. She bound his arms and legs before tossing him to the floor of her bedroom, while she waited upstairs to meet Snow. _

_ She heard one of the stairs creak, and Regina smirked, ducking into a room so that Snow could pass by her, giving Regina a full advantage, keeping the element of surprise on her side. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Snow passed by Regina, not even realizing the woman was home, as she called out for Herc and her father. The clock chimed, indicating midnight, and Regina slipped from her hiding spot to stand behind Snow, effectively cornering her at the end of the hallway. _

_ After a suitable moment of silence passed, Regina spoke. “We’re the same age now.” Snow jumped, spinning around to face Regina. She smiled at her step-daughter, but didn’t bother trying to disguise it as friendly. “Happy birthday, Snow.” _

_ “Regina, what’s going on? Something’s wrong.” _

_ “Are you sure?” Regina moved closer to her, revelling in the evident panic starting to cloud Snow’s eyes. “We waited up for you, Snow, there’s no reason to worry. Your father is in our bedroom.” Snow looked suspicious, and rightfully so. Regina reached out for Snow’s hand, pleased that she took it, and even more pleased at the noticeable shiver Snow let out at the contact. She was nervous, and it showed.  _

_ Snow wasn’t putting up a fight though, which made Regina’s plan easier. It was clear that despite everything, a part of Snow still trusted Regina, and for that the vampire was thankful. Without that small sliver of hope and blind faith, Regina was sure her plan wouldn’t have worked.  _

_ She led Snow to her bedroom, nudging her into the door ahead. Upon entering, Snow turned to Regina before noticing who was in there waiting for her. The fact that her father wasn’t greeting her immediately obviously set off some alarms that became evident in Snow’s wide eyes when they met Regina’s. “Something doesn’t feel right. Is everything okay?”  _

_ Before anything could go wrong, Regina pushed Snow into the room and closed the door behind her. Snow regained her balance and gaped at Regina, looking both panicked and confused. “Regina, what--” _

_ Regina didn’t let her finish her question before lunging at the Slayer, catching her off guard, gripping her shoulders tightly. In all of Regina’s attacks, she approached her victims from behind, which was most effective and less intimate. It was always about a good meal rather than a good kill, but with Snow, this wasn’t a matter of feeding, and she attacked her from the front. In the off chance Snow managed to have awareness of this moment, she wanted her to remember that Regina was the one that caused it. _

_ She pulled Snow closer to her, sinking her teeth into her neck, and immediately her mouth tingled at the sensation of blood, quickly followed by the rest of her body as it warmed with a new kind of energy she had never before experienced. She had heard things from other vampires about the blood of a Slayer being more potent than the average human, and Regina certainly could attest to that as she let Snow’s blood flow down her throat.  _

_ Tearing herself away from Snow’s neck, Regina bit into her own wrist to create an open wound and thrust it in front of Snow’s mouth, propping her up with one arm, and forcing Snow to drink her own blood as the final step in her siring.  _

_ Transfixed on Snow sucking the blood from her arm, she knew that the woman was already lost to herself and would soon have an uncontrollable thirst for human blood, and she had plenty around her to fill up on. Snow’s eyes were glazed over as she took an intoxicated step back, her face distorted, and Regina knew she had succeeded.  _

_ Regina watched, almost as though on a high, as Snow went for Herc first. His eyes widened in terror as he squirmed, trying to release himself from the rope. He hardly stood a chance as Snow yanked him to his feet and took his neck into her mouth, moaning in satisfaction at the first taste of human blood, and it wasn’t long before he was tossed to the ground, dead.  _

_ Suddenly, there was movement from the bed, and Regina noticed that Leopold was awake, watching the entire thing. He whimpered as Snow turned to him, mouth covered in Herc’s blood. Regina smirked as she watched Snow moving slowly towards him, still blissfully unaware of her new state of being, still craving more blood. When she hovered over him, standing next to the bed, he softly muttered, “Mary Margaret, please…” and Regina almost wished that the human Snow were standing next to her, watching the scene play out in front of her.  _

_ Regina gasped in pleasure as she watched Snow crawl onto the bed to kneel beside her father before leaning into his neck and starting to drink. He softly cried, his eyes sealed shut, not wanting to watch his precious baby taking his life. Regina couldn’t wait until her husband was suddenly dead in Snow’s arms, and Snow came to see the scene in front of her. She was going to relish in the emptiness in Snow’s eyes when she realized she couldn’t feel for the loss of her loved ones, and she was doomed to spend the rest of eternity wishing for impossible emotions, alone. _

_ But suddenly Snow stopped, slowly prying herself away from her father. She gazed across the room at Herc, a strangled whimper lodged in her throat that was finally released when she met her father’s eyes. He was still alive. Regina watched in horror as Snow came to before Leopold’s death, and for a moment she panicked, but she knew that he had lost too much blood. There was no way he would survive this. _

_ She waited for Snow to back away, feeling nothing, but it never came. Instead Regina watched as she reached gently for her father, tears running down her vampiric face as he flinched, clearly terrified of her. She spoke softly to him, “Daddy, no. I promise I won’t hurt you.” And he reached back up to her as she tried again to comfort him, but she was hardly coherent as she spoke through heavy sobs. “I’m so sorry, Daddy. I love you.” _

_ Eyes wide, Regina watched in shock as Snow expressed deep sorrow as her father died in her arms. She had never seen someone in so much pain, and if Snow was capable of still feeling such emotions without a soul, she couldn’t imagine the amount of anger she would have towards Regina.  _ A soul _. Regina stiffened at the idea, taking a sharp breath in.  _ Does she have a soul? Is such a thing possible?

_ Snow looked over at her and her expression remained unchanged. Slowly she made her way over to where Regina was standing. She wasn’t sure what to do. If Snow didn’t have a soul, and she shouldn’t, she would likely kill her right on the spot, or at the very least try to. If she didn’t, that would be all the answer Regina would need to confirm that somehow, she still had a soul. _

_ Regina couldn’t stop herself from flinching as Snow closed the distance between them in one final bound, but she didn’t need to. Snow was sobbing into her neck with her arms clinging to her. Regina was frozen, and quite frankly, she was speechless. She had never sired anyone before today… Had she done it wrong? Was that why Snow had a soul? She had researched it for years, and she had even contacted her mother’s sire to ensure it would be done correctly. She was sure she hadn’t messed up. But why would Snow have a soul? Was it because she was the Slayer? _

_ There was a twinge of jealousy deep within Regina. Snow seemed to be in great turmoil, but at least she could feel. Regina would likely give anything to have her full range of emotions back, but at the same time, she was grateful that nothing could make her weak like Snow was now. Regina had just made Snow destroy everything, and yet, here she was, seeking her for consolation.  _

_ Finally Snow let her go and her tear streaked eyes met Regina’s. “You have a soul.” Snow’s face seemed unsurprised at this, like she had gathered as much on her own but wasn’t sure. She wouldn’t have had anything to compare this to after all, and it wasn’t like the emotions running through her exactly gave her the proper space to process this.  _

_ Regina took a step away from Snow, hoping to leave, but Snow grabbed her arm, squeezing it so tight that Regina thought she was going to break it. “Regina wait, please don’t go. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do. You’re the only one who can help me. You’re all I have.” Her voice broke as she started to cry again, and Regina thought it was pathetic. _

_ Regina scoffed, “Don’t be ridiculous, Snow. You’re better off without me.” She glanced over Snow’s shoulder at the dead bodies, as if to remind her that they were there. She couldn’t be there for Snow, and she wouldn’t be. She was going to abandon her. “You have a soul, which means you can find a way to have a life.” _

_ Snow choked back another sob, surveying the scene behind her. “That was my life.” She looked back to Regina, and it just grated Regina’s nerves to still see some hope in the eyes in front of her, the blind trust in Regina even after what she had just done. However, tearing herself away would be the easiest part of ruining Snow’s life, if that’s really the effect it would have on her. _

_ So Regina did what she did best and resorted to anger. “Yeah, and  _ who  _ did that?” _

_ “Me.  _ I  _ did that.”  _

_ Snow took the self-blame bait and ran with it, quicker than Regina expected. She didn’t even put up a fight, and Regina wanted her to so she pushed her even farther. “ _ You _ did that.”  _

_ It worked. “But…”  _

_ “But what? I did it too because I’m the one who made you like this?  _ You  _ are the reason you are like this. If you had just kept your mouth shut, we would still be one big happy family.” _

_ “Regina, what-- I don’t understand--” _

_ “Of course you don’t. My mother was a vampire, Snow. She was a selfish vampire who never loved me, only money and power. You think I married your father because I _ loved _ him? I married him because  _ she  _ blackmailed me. And when you told her about Daniel, everything she ever wanted was threatened and she had to take care of it in the only vindictive way she knew how.” By now, Regina was boiling with anger having been pent up for years. Snow had a right to know what she had done and why she deserved every horrible thing she got. _

_ By the looks of it, it was working. Tears were rolling as she asked Regina the question she had been waiting for. “What did she do?” _

_ “What do you think? She made me like her, in front of Daniel, knowing that as a new vampire, I would be delirious and bloodthirsty and out of control. I was going to go after the first living creature, and she made sure it was Daniel. I killed him. I can’t feel anything. I have no soul, so I don’t even regret it. But I think back to who I used to be, and that’s when I think that I can feel it. My heart doesn’t warm like it used to and the flutter in my stomach has long dissipated, but I think about him often, and when I do, I remember that he made me feel, and I remember that it all was pulled away from me by someone who should have loved me, someone I thought I could trust.” _

_ “Regina, I know your mother was--” _

_ “I wasn’t talking about my mother, I was talking about you,” Regina’s eyes bore into Snow’s seeking and finding the understanding that Snow was the one who ruined her life. Regina knew it, and now Snow did too. “My mother may fit that description as well, but I expected as much from her, which is why I never told her about Daniel in the first place. But she was easy to deal with. I killed her. It’s what she deserved. But you, you don’t deserve something easy like that. I’ve had a few plans, and maybe I can make them all work out, so we’re going to call this Regina’s Revenge Phase One. You’re a suffering vampire like me, only more so because you somehow have a soul. And you’ve just killed the only living people you love.”  _

_ Snow made one more effort to reconcile before Regina cut her off. She had no right. So Regina left Snow there surrounded by the dead bodies of those she loved, covered in blood, just like she had been on the day Cora sired her. She imagined Snow crying into her blood stained hands, lying sprawled across her father’s body, crying for days on end. The thought brought a smile to her face. She told Snow she had other plans for revenge, but that wasn’t completely true. She was going to though. As long as Snow lived, she would be finding ways to ruin her. _

_ They didn’t see each other very often, but when they did, Regina would try to fight, and Snow usually got frustrated and left, refusing to fight Regina. Which was moderately acceptable to the older vampire. Fighting wasn’t going to get them anywhere, but still, it would make Regina feel better if Snow was trying to fight, trying to prove to Regina she could be good or get her to believe in hope, just to give her more fuel to cause Snow’s suffering. For the most part, Snow was an utterly uninteresting vampire. She seemed unhappy enough though, locking herself up at home during the day, working night shifts at crappy places. Not to mention feeding off of sewer rats and the occasional wild animal. _

_ It came to Regina’s attention that Snow had tried to resume being the Slayer, but obviously failed, unable to control her vampire face and scaring off innocent humans. Regina always cackled, sometimes placing herself in a scenario where Snow would have to fight her, trying to protect an innocent, but ultimately being the reason the innocent was in tears, screaming down the street.  _

_ But one day, Snow just let the poor human run without even trying to fight Regina. Instead, she looked up at Regina with sad, teary eyes, and said, “I’m sorry about your father.” And that’s how Regina found out her father had passed. She didn’t even get to say goodbye. She arranged for his body to be taken to Storybrooke, Maine, his hometown, and she paid for a beautiful large crypt, just for him. She spent weeks in Storybrooke, making a home for herself in his crypt, not finding it in her to try and sustain any kind of normal life there. It wasn’t like she needed to. _

_ Every now and then, she would return to Boston. Snow was always still there, continuing to try saving the world from vampires. Regina was there when Snow had her first run in with a Slayer that wasn’t herself. Regina killed her as Snow watched in horror. It was her second Slayer kill after Snow. She had to get Snow out of the graveyard herself just to avoid her getting caught, and when Snow had asked her why she was being so nice, she just said, “How can I enact my revenge if you turn into a pile of dust in the prison yard?” She ensured Snow that her revenge wasn’t over. She didn’t know what was going to happen next, but Snow didn’t need to know that. _

_ The next time Regina made it back to Boston, she had killed two more Slayers. She had found some distance between the idea of murder and human beings (her feeding on stray humans was something she hardly considered murder anymore), except when it came to Slayers. That was when she felt like she ought to feel some kind of remorse, but she never did. It was all rage still, not to mention, she felt that Slayer blood made her stronger, more powerful. It was almost intoxicating, if only for the time being. She felt as though her whole life could consist of becoming a renowned and evil vampire, and she was more than positive nothing could ever change that. _

_ And yet, there was always something. _

_ She came back to find that Snow had not only fallen in love with a human, she was also pregnant with his child. Regina didn’t know how much Snow knew about vampires and babies, but this was a sign of true love, no doubt. Regina wasn’t about to complain though, because it meant there was another step in her revenge. Snow had taken away her child, and she was going to take away Snow’s.  _

_ It was easier than it should have been. Of all people, David told her when the due date was, and from there, Regina kept an eye out, waiting for Snow to go into labor. When the day came, she was able to trap David in the elevator, and a nurse told her the room Snow and her baby were in. She got there just after delivery, somehow able to simply scoop the baby out of Snow’s arms with hardly any effort. The only thing Snow ever learned about her unnamed child was that it was a girl, before Regina walked out, leaving Snow in tears. _

_ The hardest part of this phase of her revenge started the minute she walked out of the hospital with that tiny bundle in her arms. It triggered something in Regina that she didn’t feel comfortable admitting to anyone, but when the baby cried, Regina actually felt emotion. Her plan had been to leave the baby on the side of the road, or by a truck stop. She even considered killing it, but once she held the baby in her arms on an overnight bus, and she fussed in her sleep, Regina reconsidered everything. _

_ She chalked it up to the fact that she lost her own child once before, and that made her sympathetic to babies, but somehow that didn’t seem totally true because when someone’s baby cried next to them on the bus, she scowled until it shut up. _

_ Eventually, Regina decided that no matter what happened, the baby deserved her best chance, short of Snow having hers. So Regina found her way to a group home in Phoenix, and she left the baby outside the door, wrapped in her nasty, pale yellow hospital blanket, rather than the fluffy purple one the vampire had bought for her, so they couldn’t trace anything back to Regina. The baby screamed so loud when she finally left Regina’s arms, and as she ran and hid in the bushes, waiting to make sure someone came to find the baby, Regina felt a serious pang in her still heart. She didn’t realize she was crying until she tasted the salt from her tears. _

_ The baby was taken inside, and Regina fled, never looking back. _

_ She returned to Storybrooke, not Boston, and spent a week holed up in her father’s crypt, thinking about the baby and why she felt such concern for it. Sometimes she would even forget it was Snow’s baby. She would imagine what would become of her or if she would ever see her again. She hoped she had made the right choice. _

* * *

 

Once Regina finishes her story, all Emma can manage to do is stare at her. She can’t even manage to close her mouth for fuck’s sake, and Regina is starting to look really worried, really embarrassed, or both. Like with Snow’s lengthy story, Emma has so many questions, but she’s even less sure of where to start now than she was then. Why was Regina’s mother so evil? Why does no one ever tell Emma her father’s name? Regina got married? Does that mean she’s still married? Oh god she’s not somehow related to Emma, is she? How old is she technically? What does it mean that Regina is the product of true evil? Does that make her and Regina mortal enemies officially? Does Regina still drink human blood? What’s the deal with Slayer blood? Does Regina want to suck Emma’s blood? Does she ever wonder what it tastes like? Oh god. Does she ever wonder what  _ she _ tastes like? Why doesn’t Regina want a job like Snow has? How does she buy her leather pants without a job? Did baby Emma give Regina feelings? Does current Emma give Regina feelings?  _ Does Regina give Emma feelings? _

Emma’s brain is seriously going into overdrive. “Uh…” Emma swallows. “Sorry, I don’t know where to start.” Regina nods.

“You’re fine, Emma. Take your time. I know it’s a lot to process.” Suddenly the bell rings and Emma nearly falls out of her chair. Regina snickers.

“Shit, that scared me. Uh, I should probably go to gym,” Emma says, not making any motion to get up.

“You said that an hour ago,” Regina says, fighting back a smile, “the  _ last  _ time the bell rang.” Emma gapes at her, shaking her head. Regina nods back at her. “You missed class. I told you not to miss it, that I could just finish my story later but you ignored me. If you get in trouble, just remember, it’s your fault. I tried.”

“What about David? He’s a teacher!” Emma looks towards his office incredulously.

“Yeah, he tried too. You told him to go away.” Emma groans, slamming her head on the table. “Do you want to keep talking?” Emma looks up at Regina, who’s giving her a soft smile, and it only makes Emma think of more questions. If Regina doesn’t have a soul, does she really not feel anything? Is she capable of feelings? The look in her eyes makes Emma’s brain go fuzzy, and if that’s not real then nothing is. 

Realizing she’s staring, Emma clears her throat and quickly looks away. “Uh, I probably need to think some. I gotta go do some athletics.”

Regina blinks at her, half amused by whatever kind of grammatical disaster is coming from her mouth. “Alright. Well have fun with your...athletics. I’ll see you later.”

“Uh… I guess.” Emma waves, and slips out of the room, going out the closest door to the outside, taking a deep breath once she feels the sun in her eyes. It makes her sneeze, which is irritating, but she can’t run into Regina here, which is perfect. She needs to clear her head, and all Regina seems to do is leave it all flustered.

She ducks into the gym to get changed into her gym clothes and sets out to do some laps around the track. She’s run almost two miles before she’s stopped thinking about Regina, and when she realizes she’s made it fifty meters not thinking about her, she also realizes that she’s thinking about her again. That’s when she just gives up altogether and collapses in the grass, groaning.

She jumps when someone nudges her lightly with their foot, and she’s not surprised when she sees Ruby hovering over her. “What’s up, buttercup?”

“The sun.”

“Ha ha, very clever, Emma. You look distressed.” Ruby sits next to her and starts pulling at the grass.

“I’m just thinking?”

“About?”

“Feelings,” Emma answers, immediately regretting it. Ruby immediately perks up, an endless spiel of questions preparing to launch from her mouth, so Emma quickly sits up to quell them before they can begin. “Look, I don’t want to talk about it. And anyway, don’t we have something more important to talk about? Where are the guys?”

“Dang, Em, Relax. I saw you running and came over early. They’re on their way.” Emma sighs when Ruby doesn’t push any more about the feelings thing, but definitely eyes her suspiciously until she’s sure she’s really going to drop it. “Just remember, if you ever need to talk…”

“Got it, Ruby. Thanks.”

It isn’t long before Neal and August join them, standing, squinting down at Emma. “Why are we in the grass? Can’t we just go to the library?”

“Uh, it’s just nice to be out here, because…” And then Emma freezes. She can’t tell them she’s trying to hide from Regina because she’s feeling confused, especially not if she just dodged a conversation about ‘feelings’ with Ruby.

“Oh, I get it. Sunlight. Nice.” Neal points up, nodding with an understanding grin on his face.”  
“Sunlight?” Emma panics. Neal is supposed to be the one whose intuition she doesn’t have to worry about.

“Uh, yeah, so we can hide out in case Snow sneaks into the school after hours?”  _ Snow. Right _ . Emma nods, feeling totally dumb. How could she have missed the most obvious answer. “Unless Regina wanted to join us?”

“Uh, no, she can’t. She has stuff to do. Vampire stuff,” Emma quickly answers, shutting that down. “Alright so we have some theories if you guys want to hear them.” When they all finally get comfortable, Emma launches into a babbling reminder about vampires and souls and true love, leaving out the intimate parts of Regina’s backstory, and really, anything about Regina at all. It seems like the safest idea for Emma to not use ‘true love’ and Regina’s name in the same sentence. She’s relieved when August clears his throat, putting an end to her ramble.

“Emma, calm down. You already told us this. Remember? Did you and Regina come up with anything new? Any ideas? Something that involves not having to kill Snow?”

Emma bristles at August’s implication that Regina wants their librarian dead. “Actually, yes. And for the record, Regina doesn’t want to kill Snow. She’s not going to do it because she knows it would upset me.”

“Whipped,” Ruby says through an incredibly fake cough. Emma groans at her. “Sorry,” she mutters, still smiling and obviously not sorry at all.

“Anyway,” Emma loudly continues. “Our best bet is to try and have Snow earn her soul back. Regina came up with some ideas on how that would work, and we’re considering all of them, even though some are better than others.”

She reads them Regina’s list, and tries to ignore their unnecessary amounts of laughter at Emma finding true love and restoring Snow’s soul. “Guys! This is serious okay? Regina worked hard on this list, and honestly is it really  _ that _ unbelievable that I could like somebody?”

“This isn’t just liking someone, Em. This is true love.  _ Soul restoring _ true love.”

“I get it,” Emma says, blushing at Ruby’s emphasis. “Anyway, I think the best idea was finding Snow’s former true love, my father. What do you guys think?” For the most part they all nod collectively, Ruby still trying to make jokes at Emma’s expense. Emma rolls her eyes. “Whatever. We still don’t know how yet, but it’s getting dark, and we all should go home so we don’t get, you know, attacked. Plus we need to talk about this when you’ll actually take it seriously.”

“We’ll just stay at our own places, right?”

“Oh, yeah. Snow can’t get in anyway. We should all be fine as long as we get home before dark.” It’s easier that way, not to mention less awkward. Although, if Emma is being honest with herself, she really wouldn’t mind having Regina stay over again, but of course, she isn’t being honest with herself and will keep on denying to her grave, which hopefully wouldn’t be a problem anytime soon.

August drives he and Emma home, and when they get there, Emma is too worn out to stick around, so she trudges up the stairs to her bedroom. It’s been quite a day, making plans and avoiding Snow. Not to mention Regina. Mostly Regina. It’s driving Emma insane that she still can’t get her mind off Regina, and after everything she learned today, it should have just pushed her away from the vampire, but it only drew her in more.

The minute Emma steps through her bedroom door, she freezes, partially convinced that she’s seeing things. Regina is sitting on her bed, reading. She looks up at Emma with wide eyes, not surprised to see her, but maybe a little worried. And who could blame her with the shock spreading across Emma’s face. She is flabbergasted. “R-Regina? What are you doing here?”

Regina stands, cautiously eyeing Emma, “Aren’t I staying here?”

Emma blinks at her. Did they talk about this? Has this been brought up before? Did Emma zone out? Oh god, if she zoned out, where were her eyes? “No? Yes. Uh...if you want to? Sorry, I don’t remember if we talked about this? Sorry for staring?” Oh god, she never knows when to stop. 

“Oh,” Regina mutters, looking down. “Except for when we talked at your school, I’ve kind of been here all day? I thought I was staying here again, but… If you want to uninvite me, I understand. I know I crossed a line. It wasn’t my intention to invade your space.” 

She makes her way to leave, but Emma reaches for her before she can walk out the door. “Regina, wait.” As soon as their skin touches, the electricity is back, and Emma sees Regina’s eyes widen at the contact.  _ Does she feel that too? Or is it just me?  _ “I didn’t mean… fuck.” Emma pulls away, facepalming, trying to figure out exactly what she’s trying to say. “I don’t want you to feel unwelcome. I invited you here, and unless you go all evil and try to kill me, I’m not gonna uninvite you. I’m just… surprised, I guess. I wasn’t expecting you to be here.”

Regina moves away once again. “I didn’t mean to surprise you. I can go.”

At that, Emma is tempted to reach for the vampire again, but she tries to keep her cool and give Regina her space. If she wants to leave, she can. “Please don’t,” Emma says so softly, she’s not even sure she said it outloud. Part of her hopes she didn’t, but when Regina gives her a shy smile before looking down to hide it, Emma’s glad she did.

“You really want me to stay?” Regina asks, almost as quietly as Emma.

Emma shrugs, “You don’t have to, but you’re welcome to.” Regina looks guilty, and Emma kicks herself for sounding like she’s speaking out of obligation and for not even answering her question, not really. “And yeah, I guess I do want you here. I don’t want you to feel guilty. I, uh… I like you.”

“You like me?” And then Emma is panicking. This is not the direction she intended this conversation to go, and as much as she thinks she might like it to go down this road eventually, she’s far from ready to open up about this at all to herself, much less to Regina.

She improvises. “I mean… yeah, we’re friends, right? Of course I like you. I like my friends. Which is you. I like you.” Emma clamps her mouth shut, putting a prompt end to her embarrassing babble and willing herself not to say any more.

Regina glances up at her. “We’re friends?” And if Emma didn’t know any better, she’d say Regina sounded disappointed.  _ Oh god, Regina hates me doesn’t she? _

“Don’t you want to be friends?”

“I… Yes. I like you too.”

“You do?” Emma’s heart flutters at the thought.

“Well, yes.” Regina gives a firm nod before pulling her eyes from Emma’s. “I like my friends too, as most people do.”

“Oh, yeah. Right. Friends.” She had totally forgotten what they were talking about. How awkward. “Anyway, you can stay here. If you want. I like having you around.”

“I can’t imagine why. Especially after today… hearing about all the things I’ve done, about who I am.” Regina sighs, turning to lean against Emma’s bed and crossing her arms. “To be honest, I expected you to hate me.”

“Then why did you tell me? You didn’t have to.”

“I wanted to. I wanted you to have all the information so that if you decided to hate me, you could. I’m not going to hide anything from you, even if it means risking our...friendship.” Regina smiles through the word. “After you left earlier, I didn’t know what to expect.”

Emma snorts before moving to sit next to Regina, “I’m sorry I ran off like that. I just… I have a lot of questions. It’s all a bit overwhelming. But about me hating you, I don’t. I’m glad you opened up to me.”

Regina smiles softly at her. “There’s no pressure, but you know you can ask me anything, right? Do you want to talk more about it now?”

Part of Emma really wants to say no. Most of her questions are irrelevant to saving Snow or are too weird to ask. She runs through some of the ones she can’t take off her mind, trying to figure out where to start. Regina waits patiently. “Uh, most of my questions are kinda stupid.”

“If you don’t know the answer then how can it be a stupid question?” Regina challenges, like it’s the least big deal in the world. But Emma can’t imagine asking Regina about her marriage or her age or her leather pants or if she’s still Snow’s stepmother, so she stands by her thought.  _ Some things probably aren’t meant to be asked, at least not now _ . 

Before Emma can think about her question, it comes spilling from her mouth, “So without a soul, you don’t feel anything?”

Regina’s forehead wrinkles, and Emma suddenly thinks she’s not going to answer the question at all. Emma’s about to apologize for having no tact when Regina finally says, “I-- uh…I didn’t, no.”

Emma can’t stop herself, her voice breathless. “What about now?”

“I don’t know.”


	6. she made me feel (like a human being)

The next morning when Emma wakes up, she’s disappointed and concerned to find the space on the bed empty next to her, an indication that Regina is missing, and Emma panics. Her first instinct is to check the bathroom, and then downstairs, and when Regina still isn’t anywhere to be found, she goes back to her room to look and see if Regina left a note. She didn’t, but the pajamas she borrowed are folded neatly at the end of the bed. Maybe she left a note somewhere else? Emma searches the house again, this time running into August in the kitchen, literally. 

“Woah, Emma. What’s got you so freaked out and worried?”

“I’m not worried,” she says, too quickly. “And I'm not freaked out either.”

August snorts, “Yeah, sure, whatever you say. ” He resumes making his breakfast while Emma sits at the island counter, slamming her head down and groaning. She doesn’t move or say anything else, not daring to talk about it. For all she knows, August has no idea that Regina even stayed over again, and he doesn't need to know. She's pretty sure he wouldn't support the forming tradition. She’s beyond grateful when August puts a cup of coffee next to her and gives her shoulder a pat before leaving the room. She can face the conversation another day. Or not at all.

Getting ready for school is a struggle. Every time any noise happens anywhere in the house, Emma looks for the source, hoping it's Regina, but it never is. She's finally ready, jumping when August asks her if she's ready to go and ignoring the curious look he gives her. 

She tells him “one sec” before darting up the stairs to her room to unlock and open up the window for Regina. Just in case. But if anyone asks her, she will insist that she ‘just forgot’ to close it. Until then, no one needs to know or suspect anything at all. 

Emma’s day goes on like normal, except that she’s next level distracted, thinking about Regina and hoping she’s okay, wondering why she left without saying goodbye or without a note. Had Emma done something in her sleep? The idea almost has Emma falling out of her desk. If Ruby and Neal notice, they don’t say anything, but then again, if they did, Emma’s probably too out of it to hear them. 

Everytime she’s in the hallway, she looks out for Regina, in case she’s snuck back into the school. She hasn’t. When they all meet up for lunch in the library again (Emma’s idea to meet inside rather than outside, just in case Regina comes by, not that any of her friends need to know that), she half expects to walk through the door and see Regina chatting with her friends at a table, but she isn’t.

They decide not to plan today, which makes Emma look even more suspicious for wanting to meet inside, but she just stammers about it being too hot, even though it’s winter. Everyone looks at her like she's lost her mind, and Ruby opens her mouth to speak, probably to say something that makes Emma want to crawl under a rock, but then David walks in and interrupts, much to her relief. “Hey guys! What’d the grape say when it got crushed?”

“Uhh…”

“Nothing. It just let out a little wine!” Emma hardly registers the joke, but laughs anyways, just for David. Neal snorts and the other two roll their eyes. David laughs the most out of all of them, as usual. “You guys need a better sense of humor.”

“Maybe you need to be less of a dad,” Ruby comments, under her breath but loud enough for everyone to hear. Neal snorts again. 

“Dad?” David chuckles nervously before changing the subject. “Anyway, what are you guys up to? Scheming? Shenanigans? Anything I can help with?”

Neal shrugs. “Just homework. Hey, are you any good at algebra?”

“Hey, I thought I was gonna tutor you?” August brings his hand to his chest in mock offense. “I can’t believe you’re choosing Mr. Dad Joke over me.” 

David laughs really loud, and awkwardly mutters “dad” again. “Hey, uh, what happened to that other friend of yours? The one from yesterday?” David asks hesitantly, like he isn't sure he should ask or like he's afraid of the answer. Emma's too distracted thinking about the very person he's asking about to think about David's weird behavior. 

Ruby snickers, and Emma starts to mumble some kind of half assed explanation before August interrupts her. “Oh, Regina? Yeah, that’s Emma’s girlfriend. She--” But he stops short by Emma suddenly standing up, her chair screeching loudly against the floor. Four pairs of eyes are glued on her as she stands, frozen, not sure of what to say. She’d been trying to be subtle, and failed so entirely.

“She’s, uh… Regina isn’t….” Emma swallows before picking up her bookbag. “She isn’t here. And she’s not my girlfriend.” Her last words are spoken so quietly that she hopes they were actually heard, but she doesn’t stick around to find out.

The hallways are empty because everyone is at lunch and Emma just decides to hide out by her locker. Dropping her bookbag, she leans against the locker, taking a deep breath. This whole thing about Regina is getting out of control. Emma isn’t even gay...right? But even she has to admit that for years she’s been on the fence, unwilling to explore what always felt the most normal to her. Go figure it would be her baby kidnapper that would finally bring the truth out of her. 

Emma scoffs as she turns to open her locker, nearly squealing in surprise when a piece of paper slips out and falls to her feet. She picks it up and feels her heart clench in her chest when she reads “get home before dark -R.” Regina left a note in her locker? Regina wants to see her? Is Regina worried about her? Is Regina calling it ‘home’ as in ‘Emma’s home’ or their ‘collective home?’ She’s only stayed there twice so it’s likely the former, but still. Emma is grinning like an idiot at Regina’s note, wondering when she had left it and if she was still around and when she would see her. 

Emma is leaning face first against the locker, squealing like a hyped up school girl when August walks up. “Uh, Emma? You okay?” She jumps, too shocked for her own good. And again, so much for subtlety. “I came out to apologize for what I said… I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable, or upset. But you seem to be doing just fine. Well, at least up until I scared you,” he laughs.

“Uh… yeah?” She feels trapped. There’s not any way she can see this conversation veering away from Regina. August is looking at her like he knows everything, or at least has an idea of it. His eyes flicker to the note still in her hand, and she tries to subtly stuff it into her back pocket. 

“Is there something you want to talk about?” He eyes her carefully, but she’s afraid to meet his gaze as she shakes her head. 

She doesn’t need a mirror to know how red her face is. “Nope, no. Nothing at all.”

“Is something going on?”

“What do you mean?” Emma finally meets his eyes, and they look just as curious as she expected they would. He’s trying to figure it out, she can see that much, like he wants to ask her about it, about Regina, but he looks away and shakes his head.

“Nevermind. Uh, so have you and Regina come up with anything new? Have you talked to her since yesterday?” Emma isn’t expecting Regina’s name to come up at all, and she chastises herself silently for being so transparent. Whatever her reaction is to her name is beyond her, but August’s quirked brow informs her that it was something worth noting.

She shakes her head again, “No, we haven’t talked about it since yesterday.”

August smirks at her. Was that the wrong answer? Does he know Regina was at their house last night? Is that why he made the girlfriend joke? She really needs to get a grip. Emma shrugs as an attempt to remain casual, and she knows she’s failed when August just keeps smirking. “Alright. Uh, we can plan more later. It’s kind of worrisome that we haven’t seen anything from Snow since the revocation spell. I know it’s only been a day, but she didn’t try to get in last night, which makes me think she’s planning something.”

“Yeah, me too. I thought for sure she was going to try again, but I haven’t heard her or seen her, and neither has, uh…” She stops, not wanting to admit to Regina staying over even though she’s pretty sure August already knows. “...Anyone else.” She finishes weakly.

His smirk is back, “Right,  _ anyone else _ .” It’s lucky that Emma is talking to August, the least nosy out of all her friends. Ruby would never let her remain so vague, and she’s probably going to interrogate her about running out of the library later. Emma’s quite sure of that, so much that she considers skipping gym class altogether. “So, I was talking to Ruby before homeroom, and she was telling me about how she’s been working on gaining more self awareness in her werewolf form. We were thinking if she gets better management of it, she can go out and hunt Snow. She’s strong enough as a werewolf to protect herself, but only if she can control it completely.”

Emma’s eyes are wide, “Uh, yeah, but only if she can be safe. I don’t want anything to happen to her, or anyone else. I know she has a handle on it, but she can really control it?”

“She just mentioned it this morning. I don’t think she’s got total control, but she’s been doing research and looking into ways to manage her changing better. We can talk more about it tomorrow or whenever we all meet up next. The next full moon is coming up, so we’ll probably see what we can do to help.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. We can plan a meetup time soon.”

“Maybe Regina can be at the next one? You know, since she missed the last one. I was surprised you insisted on it being outside.”

Emma shrugs, “Uh, well, you know, she already knew all that stuff anyways. But yeah, I’ll make sure she comes to the next one. If I even see her. I might not even see her.” Emma scoops up her bag and starts backing up through the hallway. August is smirking at her again with his damned knowing eyes, and Emma just wants to disappear. 

“Yeah, sure, okay Emma. Well, when you see her… I mean,  _ if _ you see her,” he obnoxiously corrects for Emma, who can’t help but roll her eyes at him, “ _ if _ you see her, tell her to come by tomorrow night.  _ If _ she isn’t already there.” He shoots her a wink, and she groans and walks away, not willing to put up with his antics anymore. It could be worse, at least Regina hasn’t picked up on anything yet.

She hides out in the bathroom until the bell rings, finally leaving once she thinks her friends have left the library. Emma decides that she’s done with weird comments and questions for the day. It all looks like it’s going to work out when Emma walks into the library, relieved to see her friends aren’t still in there. She sits and pulls out some homework, ready to finally focus on something other than Regina (thoughts of the vampire entirely corrupted her study hall), and get some work done, but then David walks in and sits right across from her. “Uh, hey. David. Do you need me to do anything? I don’t have to do homework if you need something. I am your assistant after all.”

“Oh, no,” He shakes his head, smiling softly at her. “I just wanted to apologize about earlier. I didn’t mean for you to get put on the spot like that.”

“You didn’t know. It’s fine.” Emma shrugs.  _ This seems like a nice place to drop the conversation _ . “I mean, I don’t know why August had to say that, but I can’t say I’m surprised. The only surprising thing is that it wasn’t Ruby who said it. And I mean, it’s dumb that they said that. And true,  _ maybe  _ we danced together and took an awkward ‘prom picture’ and  _ maybe  _ she’s spent the night  _ in my bed _ two nights in a row, but it’s not like we cuddle or anything.” Emma goes red, and she looks away, irritated with herself. She told herself to stop talking, so what the hell was that? “Anyway, uh, sorry. Please don’t tell anyone that,” She mumbles in conclusion.

David chuckles and looks almost as embarrassed as she does. “You can trust me, Emma. You know that right?”

“Yeah, I know.” Emma smiles at him, letting the awkward tension dissipate. “You’re like the father I never had, but always wanted.” David’s smile falters for a moment, something unreadable flashes in his eyes as he looks away. Emma doesn’t know what it is, but she feels bad for dropping such a heavy bombshell. “Sorry,” she mutters again.

“It’s fine, Emma, I’m flattered you think so. I really am.” He smiles at her again, but it’s not as bright as usual. Emma tries not to dwell on it, but for some inexplicable reason, she doesn’t like seeing David at anything but his happiest.

“Hey, David?”

“Yeah?”

“Why didn’t the toilet paper cross the road?” 

He doesn’t even have to hear the punch line, his eyes are already bright with Emma’s effort. “I don’t know, why?”

“It got stuck in a crack,” Emma jokes without missing a beat, and she’s more than pleased to hear David’s contagious, larger than life laugh. The two laugh together before David stands up to retreat back to his office. 

“That’s a great one, Emma, I might have to steal that one from you sometime. Uh, anyway, I’ll get out of your hair. If you need me for anything, you know where to find me.” He gives Emma a pointed glance that makes her feel like she’s hearing the punch line to a joke she’s never heard and doesn’t understand, but she brushes it off. David’s just silly like that.

She thanks him before turning her attention back to her homework. But all her concentration efforts are in vain as her mind flashes back to Regina. She pulls the note out of her pocket and grins at it some more. She’s definitely going straight home after school.

Emma manages to avoid any interrogation from her friends for the rest of the school day, and she can only assume August told Ruby and Neal, but mostly Ruby, to leave her alone about the whole thing. Most of gym, Ruby looks at Emma like she’s about to explode with the questions Emma doesn’t want to answer, and Neal’s eyes flicker between Ruby and Emma every time they’re standing near each other. August acts normal, but Emma can still see that look in his eyes.

The minute gym class ends, Emma doesn’t even change back into her normal clothes. She just gathers up all her stuff and jogs home in her gym clothes, regretting it only slightly when she realizes how cold it is outside and how heavy her bookbag is, but the idea of Regina waiting at home for her is some serious motivation.

She doesn’t realize how desperate it seems until she is standing in her bedroom doorway, panting from lack of breath. Luckily, Regina isn’t even conscious to witness it. She’s curled up in Emma’s bed, napping the daylight away, and Emma has to catch herself before she squeals at how adorable the vampire looks, covers up to her chin, face bare, and lips parted. She lets out a small snore, and Emma just can’t take it anymore. 

Not trying to be quiet, she drops her stuff to the floor and does a less drastic playback of the other morning, flopping onto the bed beside Regina, hoping it’s enough to stir the brunette awake. It is.

Next to her, Regina groans, “Must you always jump on the bed?”

“Hey, at least I’m not jumping  _ on top  _ of you. Besides, if I recall, it was way more annoying yesterday. What would you rather me do next time? Let the sunlight wake you up?” Emma laughs more at Regina’s reaction than her joke, as she rolls over to glare at Emma. “Really though, what did you expect?”

“For you to get back  _ later _ .”

“You said before dark, and it’s before dark.” Emma shrugs.

Regina squints at the clock on the wall. “Didn’t you just get out of school fifteen minutes ago?” She looks back at Emma, squinting now at her clothes, her eyes suddenly going wide at the realization. “Did you run here?” 

“Uhhhhm….” Emma starts.

Regina sits up and interrupts her, “Nevermind, I’m just glad you got my note.” Despite her dismissal of her question, she looks like she still really wants to know the answer, and as much as Emma doesn’t want to answer it, she wants to see Regina’s reaction even more.

“Yeah, I ran here.” The smallest of smiles sneaks up on Regina’s face, and she ducks her head until Emma speaks again. Emma pretends not to notice. “So, anyway, what’s up? Did something happen?”

This time it’s Regina’s turn to be at a loss for what to say. She opens her mouth, but nothing comes out. “Ah, I don’t know. No. I just...didn’t want to be worried,” Regina admits quietly.

“You worry about me?”

Emma asks the question more rhetorically than anything, so she’s surprised when the word slips easily from Regina’s mouth. “Yes.” And honestly Emma is stunned. She isn’t sure what to say, and she’s pretty sure she’s lost capability of basic motor functions because she can’t stop herself from grinning or to even look away. Luckily, Regina isn’t looking at her so she doesn’t need to know, and that’s when Emma notices.

“You’re wearing my pajamas?”

The question seems to pull Regina back to her usual self as she shoots another, yet softer, glare at Emma and shrugs. “They’re comfy,” and Emma is floored by how casual she says it. All she can do now is nod and try to wipe the smile from her face, but it doesn’t go anywhere. “So how was school?”

“Why didn’t you say hi?”

“I believe I asked  _ you  _ a question  _ first _ ,” Regina points out, glowering at Emma, a smirk spreading across her face.

“School was fine, except that apparently you stopped by and didn’t bother saying hi to me.”

Regina rolls her eyes. “I wanted to go to sleep, and besides, you were in class. Latin?” Emma blinks, surprised. She has Latin first period.

“I didn’t realize you were there so early.”

“Well, after I left this morning, I realized that I never left you a note. I didn’t  _ think  _ you would be too worried about me, but I thought I should _ at least  _ give you some reassurance that I wasn’t dead. So I stopped by as early as I could before coming back. Thank you, for leaving the window open by the way.”

“Oh, uh, I forgot to close it.” Emma stammers, prepared for the excuse she never thought she would actually make.

“You locked it before you went to sleep last night…” Regina reminds her, smirk in place.

“Uh, yeah.” Emma doesn’t comment further, not wanting to embarrass herself. “And yeah, thanks for the note by the way, because I was worried about you literally all morning. I pretty much tore my room apart looking for a note that wasn’t even here.”

“You worry about me?” Regina asks, echoing Emma’s earlier question.

And then Emma realizes what she’s done. Embarrassed herself anyways. The blush that invades her face is ferocious, and the grin on Regina’s face is more than enough proof that she notices it. No point in denying it, especially if it keeps Regina smiling. “Yeah. Of course. Why do you think I ran home? I mean, uh…” Emma swallows.  _ Okay, that’s it, I'm done with talking forever. _

Regina quirks a brow but doesn’t comment, and it seems like they might be even in the amount of embarrassing admissions today (although Emma is fairly sure that her encounter at school today during lunch puts her in first place. Regina doesn’t need to hear about that though.) The silence drags on long enough that Emma has to give up her vow of silence. “So um… have you been getting around safely? I mean, you haven’t gotten hurt have you?”

“Look at you, getting worried again,” Regina says, smirking at the red spreading across the blonde’s face. But she quickly moves on, putting Emma out of her misery. “No, but you really have no reason to worry. It’s been fine, albeit a little awkward. I mean, how many people do you see running around in the sun with a blanket or a cape over their head?”

Emma can’t begin to stop the fit of giggles that escapes her mouth. The idea of Regina running around to avoid a threatening villain, the sun, in her leather pants and some cape is giving Emma life. She ignores any noises of disapproval Regina makes at her along with any faces and keeps laughing. “You have a cape?!”

The vampire rolls her eyes. “It’s not  _ that _ kind of cape. It’s like a winter coat type thing. Really thick. And it had a hood. It’s more conspicuous than a blanket but it works just as effectively. Now, if you know what’s good for you, you’ll stop laughing at me. What happened to safety first?” For some reason, that just makes Emma laugh harder, and Regina just crosses her arms until she stops.

Finally she does. “Hey, so, speaking of safety, I was wondering…” Emma bites her bottom lip, hesitant about the places this question could go. “You know how we did the uninvitation for Snow here?” Regina nods. “It just got me thinking about your crypt. Are you protected when you’re there? Can she get in?”

The sudden seriousness in Emma’s voice startles her. She knows she’s worried about the vampire in front of her, but the weight of her safety has never felt as important as it does now. Emma feels like it could swallow her whole, and the silence Regina initially meets her question with is deafening and tense enough to answer the question for her. “The graveyards are owned by the city of Storybrooke, which makes them public property. My father’s body may be buried in the crypt, and I may reside in there, but it is still public property.”

“So that means…” Emma starts, recalling the conversation about protecting the high school and the library.

“I can’t protect myself from her there.”

“Regina.” Emma’s heart sinks to her stomach, and she reaches out for the vampire without thinking to rest her hand on Regina’s knee. The electricity is faint with Regina under the blankets, but the buzz is still here, and when she feels it, Regina brings her eyes up to meet Emma’s, again leaving Emma wondering if she isn’t the only one who feels it. “You’re welcome here anytime, you know? I’m not going to uninvite you. If you want, I can even make a copy of my key for you.”

“Well that’s a stereotype if I’ve ever heard one.” Regina snorts.  _ What _ . Emma hardly has time to register what Regina is saying before she brushes away the comment. “Sorry, I don’t know if that’s a joke you would get or not.” Regina seems to look pointedly at Emma, as if waiting for her affirmation, but Emma’s brain is short circuiting so actively that she loses all hope of responding in any other way than staring at Regina like she just sprouted wings. Eventually Regina looks away, and Emma swears she looks disappointed.  _ Does she want me to get the joke? What does that mean? Does she want me to get it just to be able to laugh or is she trying to imply something else? Wait, if Regina made the joke, does that mean she’s… _

Regina’s voice pulls Emma from her thoughts, “Anyway, do we have any more plans to meet up and strategize? Did you guys talk at school today?”

“Uh, no. I mean, we didn’t talk about anything today, really. We were going to at lunch, but…” Emma trails off, realizing that she doesn’t want to tell Regina that story. “Uh, I bailed on lunch. So August told me we were all gonna meet up here tomorrow. Ruby has a plan, werewolf related. Cause, you know, she’s gotten better control of it now.”

“Ruby’s a werewolf?”

“Uh, yeah, I thought you knew that already?”

Regina chuckles, eyes wide, “No, no one told me.”

“Yeah, it was some guy she hooked up with.” Emma shrugs. “I guess sex really can be dangerous.”

“Oh, you have no idea,” the vampire responds, eyes locked on Emma’s, her voice lower than it was just a moment ago. 

Emma breathes out a nervous laugh, completely unsure of what Regina’s trying to say. She tries to process that comment and the suggestive way Regina said it, wondering if it was intentional, but she knows that if she lets herself think too hard about it, she’s going to make some ungodly noise, some kind of excited squeal of potential, or worse, some kind of animalistic groan. The only solution is to bound off the bed and go sit at her desk.

She’s got her bookbag and is pulling out homework more vigorously than she probably ever has before. “I’m gonna do some homework. Uh, let me know if you need anything.” And with that, Emma puts in her headphones and attempts to focus on the math in front of her, her mind unwavering from everything Regina had just said.

By the time it gets dark, Emma is still doing homework (her concentration is out the window with Regina in her room and on her mind), and when Regina says she’s going out for a bit, Emma just nods, the “be safe” implied in the smile she gives Regina as she leaves. Emma figures it has something to do with dinner, but she doesn’t ask. She’s really curious about Regina’s feeding habits ( _ does she still feed on people? _ ), but she doesn’t want to make Regina uncomfortable so she doesn’t push it. And honestly, it’s easier to focus with her being gone for at least an hour, if she can manage to push all the thoughts of worry from her mind.

But it isn’t just an hour.

When one hour becomes two, Emma is actively worried, but she trusts Regina and her ability to defend herself. When two hours becomes three, and Emma has finished her homework and it’s one o’clock in the morning, Emma enters panic mode. Without even thinking about it, she’s changing and getting armed up, ready for a fight, though hopefully there won’t be one. She’s out of the house in record time, not bothering to inform August on anything that’s happening. He’s probably asleep anyways.

Naturally, the first place Emma looks is Regina’s crypt, which she finds to be empty. No sign of Regina. Some of her stuff seems to be missing, but Emma shrugs it off. That’s a problem she can figure out after she actually finds Regina. She exits the crypt, gripping her favorite stake in her hand (the one from Regina of course), and stands, listening for any sign of movement. It’s totally silent in every direction.

The wind blows, whistling faintly, and Emma shivers, wishing she’d dressed a little warmer, but she doesn’t have time to worry about that before she’s moving on, groaning at the unnecessary amount of graveyards in Storybrooke. They might as well change the town motto to, “Welcome to Storybrooke, where people come to die!”

But seriously, she’s just planning to wander until she finds Regina, hoping that they run into each other, but in the event that Regina gets home to find an Emma-less room, she has Emma’s cell phone number and the means to call it. She’s made it to the next closest graveyard, and Emma doesn’t even think to be concerned about which one it is until she’s suddenly thrown forwards, crashing violently into a headstone. “Fuck,” she mutters, trying to pull herself up. 

Of course she would find herself in the graveyard by Snow’s house.

Snow hums down at her, as her cold eyes watch Emma scramble back to her feet, “What d’you want, Mary Margaret?”

“Oh, so I’m Mary Margaret now?”

“What, would you rather me call you Mom? You hardly deserve it. Might as well call you by your first name like I did with all my shitty foster moms.”

Snow gapes in mock offense, “Ouch. That hurt so bad, you might not even need that shitty stake.” Emma follows Snow’s gaze down to the stake in her hand, uncurling her fingers enough to see the carving. Her heart skips a beat just looking at Regina’s initials in the wood. “Oh, of course,” Snow says suddenly.

“What?”

“Don’t think I didn’t hear that.”

Emma shifts uncomfortably, totally aware of what Snow’s referring to, but really hoping she’s wrong. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You’re in love with her.” And of course the words stir up Emma’s heart again, and Snow smirks at the irregularity. Damn her and her impeccable hearing.

“Wh-who?”

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me, Emma. I’m talking about Regina. I saw you dancing with her at the dance. I heard your heart jumping at the mention of her. I see the way you look at that stake. I know you’re only out here because of her.”

Emma’s eyes flash up to Snow, her heart rate picking up, “Have you seen her?”

“Look at that. You’re so worried it’s a wonder you could walk this far.” Emma scoffs. “What, you think I’m lying? You may not have seen me since the other night, but I’ve seen you. I know Regina’s been staying at your house, in your bed. Don’t forget that I was in the room that first night. I know how you look at her, and I hear the way your body reacts to her, and if you think for one second that Regina isn’t hearing the same things, you’re only fooling yourself.”

That sends Emma’s mind into a dead halt. “What?”

“You heard me. She’s a vampire. She’s programmed to hear the pumping of blood, the pounding of a heart, the subtle changes in breathing. All the things you’ll never have control over, and you’re going to ruin everything. You’ll never be happy with her because you’ll scare her off, not that she would even want to stick around.”

And then Emma’s having a hard time breathing. Is Snow telling the truth? Can Regina really pick up on all that stuff? If she can, and it makes her uncomfortable, why would she continue to stay with Emma? Is that why she left tonight? Was she not planning on coming back?

As if she can read Emma’s mind, Snow speaks again, sauntering towards Emma, “She’s using you Emma. I can get into her crypt whenever I want to, but your house is safe for her. She’s leading you on. She’ll never love you. One day you’re probably going to become another one of her meals. You heard her that day, she only wants to kill more Slayers. That’s all you are to her, just another kill to put in her book.”

“You… You’re lying.” Emma shakes her head. This whole interaction is making her dizzy, thoughts racing through her mind as she tries to rationalize the truth, dismissing Snow’s words, or at least trying to. She’s lying. She has to be.

“I’m your mother, Emma, why would I lie to you?” Emma gapes at her, attempting to retort, but nothing leaves her mouth. Snow smirks. “You know, they say that Slayer’s blood is an aphrodisiac. She’d probably get off on killing you. Especially in your own bed.”

Snow is close enough now for Emma to shove her, and that’s exactly what she does. “Shut up!” Snow staggers backwards, surprised at the force Emma put into the attack. 

“That was  _ rude _ !” Snow moves back to Emma, who is visibly shaking, and her brain can’t seem to process what’s happening. All she can think is of Snow’s words as she looks back to all of her encounters with Regina starting at the very beginning, doubting every positive interaction, and bringing all the negative ones to the forefront, and suddenly she’s being knocked off her feet by Snow’s fist to her jaw, her foot to her stomach. She lands back first on a headstone and the impact has her crying out in pain that she continues to register as she hits her head and flips over, landing hard on the ground. It’s enough blows to have her paralyzed momentarily, the wind totally knocked out of her.

She finds herself on her back, searing in pain, warm liquid running down her face, the taste and smell of blood suddenly overpowering her senses with the exception of the indescribable pain she feels in too many places to identify. 

“Get up!” Snow shouts at her, and it sounds like it’s coming from so far away, and Emma is surprised to see the vampire hovering over her when she pries her eyes open. She feebly tries to prop herself up, but it’s too hard. Snow grunts in disapproval, grabbing Emma by the arm and pulling her up to her feet in one swift movement. Emma sways on the spot for a moment, but manages not to fall back down, and she’s sure that if Snow didn’t have such a death grip on her arm, she would be crashing right down. “Fight me,” Snow growls before letting go of her arm with a push and taking a step back.

Emma blinks, still managing to stand, and wipes the blood from her face with the back of her hand; her stomach lurches slightly when she sees how much there is. She looks up to meet Snow’s glower, and tries to match her stance before taking a step forward to take a swing at the vampire, but it’s useless when Snow moves faster than her, anticipating her move and blocking her punch with another that sends Emma staggering again, about to fall, but she’s stopped by a violent tug on her arm as she gets thrown again in the opposite direction.

“What’s the matter, Slayer?” Snow snarls. “Distracted by heartbreak? Shock? Humiliation? All of the above?”

Emma makes it back on her feet, propping herself up on the nearest grave, thinking that if she doesn’t work up some strength, Snow will be putting her in her own. “No,” she spits out, seething and irritated. “I don’t believe you.”

Snow scoffs. “Don’t be so stupid, Emma. I know what vampires can hear, and I know you well enough to pick up on your tendencies. Even August can see it, and he’s human. You’re not at all subtle, and you know I’m right.”

“This isn’t about me.”

“Oh, right. It’s about Regina. If you love her so much, answer me this. How can you two ever be together? She’s a vampire, and you’re the Slayer. Everything about your natures are begging you to be enemies, and no matter how much you fight it, that’s all you’ll ever be.”

In the time it takes for Snow to dash back to Emma and send her flying through the graveyard again, Emma has an unsettling realization at Snow’s latest verbal blow. It’s true, she wants Regina and her to be more than just enemies, she wants them to be friends, but it’s even more than that. She hits the ground, and she’s not sure what’s more blinding, the flash of light shooting before her eyes as her vision blacks out, or the realization that she has very real feelings for Regina and she wants nothing more than for them to be reciprocated. 

Emma faintly recognizes that someone is standing over her, and she’s sure it’s Snow trying to bring her back to the fight, but Emma knows she’s done, her eyesight already gone. “If you wanted to hurt me Snow, you’ve succeeded,” she mumbles out through the blood staining her teeth. “Not just like this,” and she tries to gesture to her physical state, but she can’t tell where her hands are so she tries to finish her thought before losing total consciousness. “Emotionally.” But that’s all she can say before she slips away.

She’s out in time to miss Snow’s snort of approval, clearly pleased by the unconscious blonde at her feet, beaten and bleeding, admitting to a deeper pain than what shows just before she passes out. She’s also out in time to recognize that it’s no longer just Snow and her in the graveyard. Snow is also oblivious the arrival of the other vampire as she lightly kicks Emma’s body one more time to make sure she’s really out cold before stepping over her and swaggering out of the graveyard, disappearing into the night, disturbingly pleased with herself. 

As soon as she’s out of sight, Regina rushes over to Emma, carefully scooping her into her arms as she kneels on the ground next to her, making an attempt to stir her before carrying her home. “Emma,” she whispers softly but she doesn’t get a response. Her voice breaks when she says the blonde’s name again (“Emma”), and she can’t help but feel hopeless even though Emma’s heart is still beating and she’s still breathing. Regina holds her closer, bringing her forehead to the Slayer’s, exhilarated at the electric buzz at the contact, and she’s not sure if it’s coincidence that when she pulls back and rests her hand on Emma’s cheek and the electricity crackles again that Emma’s eyes flutter open. 

She’s weak, but her eyes are open and seeking out those of the vampire holding her. “Regina?” she mutters.

Regina brushes her thumb over the blonde’s cheek, trying to smile down at her through her concern. “It’s okay, Emma, I’m here.” Emma isn’t sure she believes her, sure she’s hallucinating, but she accepts the answer, grateful for Regina’s touch which seems to be bringing her back to life. Slayers heal fast, but this feels bigger than that. “What were you thinking, Emma?” Regina’s concern is evident, but despite the amount of worry in her voice, it’s clear she’s upset as well, not understanding what brought Emma out into a graveyard so late at night.

Emma’s about to pass out again, and Regina gets ready to carry her home, but stops when she starts to answer Regina’s question. “You weren’t home yet, and I was scared you were hurt. I don’t want you to be hurt.” It’s hard to make out, but Regina hears every word, and she lets out a strangled sigh when Emma becomes dead weight again in her arms. She’s bruised and covered in blood, and Regina hates how lifeless Emma looks. 

She feels utterly responsible for Emma’s current state, but she tells herself that she doesn’t know the whole story and she shouldn’t jump to conclusions. Emma has admitted to worrying about Regina, but the vampire certainly has her doubts. Part of her hopes that Emma has a better reason for venturing out and putting herself in danger, but another undeniable part of Regina wants to believe that Emma sees her as someone worth risking her life for. To the vampire, Emma is worth any risk. Sometimes it seems like Emma might think the same of Regina, but every time something seems like evidence to point towards that conclusion, Regina is able to rationalize it as something else.

Time is of the essence as Regina has to race the sunlight home. So she stands, lifting Emma easily in her arms and starting the journey home, holding Emma as carefully and delicately as she can because she doesn't want to make anything worse.

By the time Regina gets Emma home, the sun is already beginning to creep up, and Regina couldn’t be more relieved when she’s finally carrying Emma through the door. She brings her up to her room and lays her on the bed, hoping that the blood has dried up enough not to stain the blankets. She perches next to Emma, softly stroking her face again, trying to rouse her gently, and only being moderately successful. “Emma, we need to get you cleaned up. You’re going to have to change out of these clothes. There’s blood everywhere.”

Emma grunts, eyes not staying open. “I can’t… I don’t think I can.. You can do it, s’okay.”

Regina blinks down at her, “What?” Emma sighs and starts trying to shrug out of her jacket, wincing in pain. “Okay, okay, Emma stop. You’re going to hurt yourself more.” Regina pulls Emma up so that she’s leaning forward, her head resting on Regina’s shoulder, and the vampire works around her, tugging off her jacket, relieved when her shirt appears undamaged. She can keep that on. Emma seems to think otherwise as she attempts to sit up on her own and tug the fabric over her head before Regina reaches out to stop her.

Emma appears so out of it, delirious from pain and exhaustion, and if Regina wasn’t so concerned, she would have laughed at the look Emma shoots her, totally offended. She scoffs, “I’m wearing a tank top, gah.” Her serious words are nothing more than a mumble, and she pulls the shirt over her head, tossing it to the floor and falling back onto the bed with a huff.

“Okay,” Regina says, more to herself than to Emma as she knows what comes next. Emma’s pants are in a state of ruin, caked in mud and blood, and she watches, wondering if Emma can just take her own pants off. She manages to kick off her shoes and unbutton her pants, and Regina turns away, only to be brought back by Emma groaning and poking her in the side to get the vampire’s attention.

“‘Gina, I need your help.” The blonde pouts up at her, and Regina can’t help but wonder if Emma even tried to pull her pants off. She debates correcting Emma on using that annoying nickname again, but when she opens her mouth, Emma interrupts her. “Pleeease,” she whines, and Regina wills herself to remain completely calm and stoic as she heeds the Slayer’s request, and starts tugging her pants off from the waist, trying to be careful but also trying to look anywhere except at Emma.

“This isn’t what I imagined,” Emma chuckles, and Regina isn’t sure if she’s heard her correctly.  _ Imagined? Has Emma imagined me undressing her? _ She shakes the thought from her head, not letting herself go there. Once she finally gets her pants off, she’s grateful when Emma squirms her way under the covers.

“You don’t want pajamas?” Emma just rolls her eyes at Regina in response. “Okay,” Regina says again, wondering if Emma realizes they’d be sleeping in the same bed, and if she’d change her mind if it were in its right state. She’s holding Emma’s ruined pants, and it occurs to her that she doesn’t know what to do with them. It’s unlikely that the blood will come out, but she should add them to Emma’s laundry just in case. Unless Marco ever does her laundry, then that’s a bad idea. Does he do that? Some parents do that, right? 

She glances over at Emma, eyeing her quizzically. “Just leave them on the floor.” Regina wants to protest, but Emma reaches over and yanks the pants from her hands, dropping them at the vampire’s feet. Regina doesn’t move them. 

“Emma, do you have a first aid kit?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you mean, you don’t know? You’re the Slayer. You’re constantly injuring yourself, and you don’t know where the first aid kit is?”

Emma shrugs. “Used to be that Snow would get it for me, either here or at her place. Obviously that doesn’t happen anymore. August helps too. He gets it for me sometimes.” Regina sighs, standing to get up. “Now  _ you _ get to get it for me.” Emma gives the vampire a lazy smile that she swears warms her heart, or at least does something weird. She makes a note to do more research on vampire hearts, something she never cared enough about before to research. She smiles back at Emma, and it’s hard to miss the sudden irregularity in Emma’s heart beat when she looks up at her.  _ She’s just delirious _ , she tells herself as she gets up to search for the first aid kit.

It’s in the first place she looks. Under the sink in the bathroom Emma and August share. Regina snorts how basic the location is, thinking there’s no way Emma doesn’t know where to find it. She takes it with her, along with a damp washcloth before returning to Emma’s room. The blonde peers over at Regina, barely gripping consciousness, and breaks into a large grin. “You found it!”

Regina chuckles, “It wasn’t very hard to find.” She helps Emma to sit up more against the pillows before going to her face with the washcloth, gently wiping away the dirt and the dried blood, careful not to irritate any of the blonde’s cuts and bruises. When she applies antiseptics, Emma winces at the sting, and Regina brushes over the wounds lightly with her fingertips out of instinct, knowing it couldn’t possibly make anything better, but Emma hums at the contact, letting her eyes fall closed as she slips back down, getting comfortable once again.

It’s when Regina goes to put everything away again that she runs into August, who looks less surprised to see her than she is to see him. His eyes widen slightly, more at the first aid kit in her hands than at Regina herself.

“Regina? Is everything okay? Where’s Emma? Did something happen?”

The vampire takes a sharp breath in, hoping August trusts her enough to keep the blame from her. She’s comforted that he doesn’t look threatened or disturbed by her presence. “Emma went out last night, where she ran into Snow. It didn’t go in Emma’s favor, but she’s gonna be okay. She’s in her room. I’m taking care of her.” She ducks her head, worried that August’s reaction will be less than positive.

He surprises her by putting his hand on her arm. “Uh, thank you.” She shrugs, giving him a hesitant smile before putting away the first aid kit and following August into Emma’s room. He stops in the doorway, as if afraid to disturb her. Emma looks peaceful, but entirely too beat up. Regina glances at Emma’s shirt and destroyed pants on the floor, and she can’t help but move to pick them up. She puts Emma’s shoes into the closet and drops her clothes in the hamper. If anything, she’ll just do her laundry herself.

Regina turns back to August, who’s watching her clean up with an absent smile on his face, and it’s the softest he’s ever looked at her. “Sorry,” she finds herself saying, not really sure why. “I don’t want my...feeling comfortable here to make you uncomfortable.”

He shakes his head, his smile increasing in reassurance. “It doesn’t. I know that Emma’s really the only one who trusts you… But the way she talks about you, and the way you’re taking care of her now…” He trails off. “I don’t know. Just, thank you. I’m glad you’re here.” It’s awkward, but it’s the most positive interaction they’ve ever had, and she’ll take it. She gives him a smile in return.

“I would do anything for her.” And she has to double take at her own words, the sincerity in them surprising both her and August. She knows she cares for Emma, but the idea that she would sacrifice anything for Emma's safety, that she would do anything for Emma's health or to put a smile on her face, is staggering to her, but she knows that it's wholly true. She thinks she’s always know, even when Emma was just a baby in her arms.

“You would?” August asks her, eyes wide. She can see the doubt in his eyes, but beneath that she can see something else she can't quite detect. Relief? Trust? She nods, looking back to Emma, unable to keep the smile from slipping onto her face at the blonde curled up in bed. 

“I would.”

For a moment, the two just stand there in silence, and Regina nearly forgets he's still in the room when he softly clears his throat. “Uh, I think Emma should stay home from school today. I can bring home her assignments for her, if you could just keep an eye on her while I'm gone?” 

Regina nods. “Of course, I think that would be best. I was planning on staying anyways,” she says, and she actually blushes, something she catches herself doing quite frequently now. She looks away, hoping August won't notice, or if he does that he'll just deny the possibility of it, like Emma did the first few times Regina blushed around her. 

August nods, not indicating that he noticed anything unusual. “Alright, well. Uh, I'm gonna go get ready for school. Me and the others will be back later, definitely before dark. I don’t know if Emma will feel up for it, but, uh, it needs to be tonight because the night before the full moon is coming up, and Ruby…”

“Oh, right, of course. I'll do my best to make sure Emma is rested up by tonight.”

“Okay, the others will be here around eight, but I'll be here sooner. I'm guessing you've got it from here?” Regina nods, wishing that August could trust her fully, but she understands. The doubt in his eyes doesn't come as a surprise to her, but it's that new flicker that gives her hope. “And Regina?”

“Yes?”

“If you hurt her, it’ll be the last thing you ever do.”

“I already said--”

“You know what I mean.” And Regina nods. There’s more than one way to hurt someone, and she isn’t sure why he’s worried about anything other than Emma’s physical health around Regina, unless… But she doesn’t think about it. Emma feeling anything for her is a ridiculous idea, and August must know that, so Regina just nods.

August slips out of the room, and Regina closes the door to keep any noise out. It suddenly dawns on Regina how exhausted she is, and she figures it would be okay with Emma if Regina were to sleep next to her, like they had the previous nights, so she slips into a pair of Emma’s pajamas, turns the light out, and moves to get in bed, stopping when she notices that she’s sleeping on the side of the bed Regina is usually on, so she walks around and climbs into the other side beside Emma.

She glances over at the blonde next to her, lying on her back, head turned towards Regina, and all she can think is what it would be like to hold her in her arms, drifting off to sleep to Emma’s rhythmic breathing. She doesn’t want to disturb her, or freak her out, or make her uncomfortable, but really since she’s injured, maybe that could be a good excuse if it goes wrong. 

Emma moves in her sleep to rub her eye, and she whimpers softly when hand meets bruise, and Regina takes the opportunity to slide over to Emma and pull her into her arms. She doesn’t wake up, but adjusts slightly to the new position by wrapping her arm over Regina’s waist and resting her leg over Regina’s, a startling reminder to the vampire that Emma isn’t wearing pants.

But the position is too comfy and Regina is too tired to be distracted, luckily, and she finds solace in Emma’s breathing and her steady heartbeat, letting herself drift off to sleep, comforted by Emma’s warmth against her.

A bit of time has passed, and Regina hasn’t slept much, too concerned with Emma’s current state. She’s sleeping well enough, and everything seems to be functioning as it should, but she can’t shake the feeling that this whole thing is somehow her fault, or that she should leave Emma alone for a while. She thinks about that night, coming home to find Emma’s room empty, the stake Regina gave her missing, and Emma’s jacket not where she left it. 

Regina had tried to call her countless times with the house phone to no avail, and after she was sure the blonde wasn’t going to answer, she went off after her herself, first looking at her own crypt and the area around it, but that didn’t help. Then she thought to walk to the school, but something about that seemed off to Regina. She kept trying to think of why she would leave so late at night, and the only thing that made sense was if she had been going after Regina, but even that seemed like a stretch to the vampire. She knew Emma worried about her, but it couldn’t possibly have been enough to risk her safety. However, if that were the case, she would at least have a better idea of where to look. Emma was probably wandering through one of Storybrooke’s (too) many graveyards, which sent Regina’s heart plummeting to her stomach.

Unfortunately, the next closest graveyard was the one by Snow’s house, and while Regina hoped the Slayer would be smart enough to avoid that one, she knew that Emma was too unpredictable and the risk of checking it out was well worth making sure Emma wasn’t getting herself killed.

She couldn’t have made a better choice, except maybe to get there sooner, because when she did, an already bloodied up Emma was crashing to the ground, Snow moving to stand over her. She crept in and hid to avoid Snow, hoping the vampire would just leave, giving up on Emma. She doubted the vampire would kill her, soulless or not. Emma is too valuable to just destroy, even to an evil Snow. She heard Emma muttering about getting hurt, and emotions, which didn’t make sense, but then Snow was leaving and Regina never felt so relieved, all thoughts of what she had just witnessed leaving her mind.

But now, as she lies with a sleeping Slayer in her arms, her mind drifts back, wondering what happened between Snow and Emma. It made no sense that Snow left so unscathed because Emma could more than hold her own in a fight. It isn’t as though Regina has many fights with an evil Snow to compare to, but soulless Snow seems like the kind to verbally assault anyone she hated, but to bring them down, and given what sounded like Emma’s confession of Snow hurting her emotionally, alongside physically, that would make sense.

Regina is curious as to what Snow said to her, but she knows it’s none of her business. And if Emma chooses to open up to her about it then that’s fine, but if not, she isn’t going to push her. If it was enough to distract Emma from fighting back, it was probably serious. When she would taunt Emma in their past fights, it never stirred Emma to a state of total helplessness, and some of her jeers had gone pretty deep.

Regina is pulled from her thoughts as Emma stirs, not in a still asleep kind of way, and Regina finds herself freezing, letting her eyes close in case Emma freaks out about being so close to her. She doesn’t need to know that the vampire is still awake, though she hopes that Emma won’t freak out, and at the very worst, just leaves her embrace but falls back asleep still next to her.

Emma wakes up, something cold against her that somehow still makes her feel completely warm. At first, she’s afraid to move, remembering the night and her injuries, totally oblivious to where she is or what’s going on. She shifts slightly, fortunate that her movement doesn’t trigger any kind of pain. She risks a glance upward, surprised to see Regina, sleeping half underneath her, with her arms wrapped around Emma. She smiles and allows herself to snuggle closer to the vampire, wrapping her arm tighter around her waist, nuzzling into her hair, and hoping that Regina doesn’t wake up and think their position is weird.

Regina’s eyes fly open when she’s suddenly pulled closer to the blonde, who holds her tighter. She can feel Emma smiling into her neck, and she can feel her body heat grow ever so slightly, and she can hear her heartbeat picking up more the closer she moves into Regina. She knows that Emma’s awake, with the pace in her breathing shifting and the way she had picked her head up presumably to look at Regina. Emma is consciously cuddling with her, which is something the brunette is just unsure how to process.

Emma breathes in Regina’s scent, which is blended heavily with her own, and she wonders how long they’ve been like this. She vaguely wonders what time it is, knowing that she probably has school soon, but part of her doesn’t care if she misses it. She had a rough night, and she’s going to stay here cuddling with Regina and healing, dammit. She thinks briefly about Regina finding her last night, thinking that Regina’s touch was a healing power in itself, and she wondered if it really is, or if it is to anyone other than her. She selfishly hopes that it’s something that only Emma can benefit from, and she curls closer to Regina almost possessively.

Regina wonders if she should say something, ask if Emma’s okay, just to check in and let her know she’s awake too, but she thinks better of it. Emma probably thinks she’s asleep, and to contradict that might startle her out of her comfort. Regina doesn’t want anything to happen to cause the blonde to move from her place wrapped up in her arms.

Emma doesn’t realize at first that she’s not wearing pants, but when she does, her eyes flash open, and she heavily debates moving, thinking for sure that if anything made Regina uncomfortable or turned Regina off from cuddling with her, the pantsless thing would be it. But she tries to remember how she got like this, and is able to pull back the memory. She blushes fiercely, silently kicking herself for saying such weird things, but more than anything, she wonders what Regina thought about it all. And anyway, how did they get like this? Was Regina awake when the cuddling started? Had she initiated it? Had Emma? 

Regina is still afraid to let herself relax again, but she wonders if Emma can sense her stiffness, or even worse, feel it. She doesn’t want Emma to realize she’s awake, so she tries to move so that it seems like she’s actually asleep. Eventually she’s able to let the tension dissipate as she focuses on the sound of Emma’s heartbeat, and she feels enough courage to wrap her arms tighter around Emma, pulling her closer, if such a closeness is even possible.

Emma feels Regina pulling her  _ even more _ into her,  _ more _ over her, and all Emma can do in response is grin and allow herself to melt into her, really wondering how someone, and not just anyone, a vampire, could be so warm and soft. Suddenly, she's thinking back to Snow’s words that hurt her so much last night. She doesn't care if Regina can hear her heart skipping beats whenever she's around, and she doesn't care if she can hear the way Emma's breath hitches at the sight of her, not if it means it led them to this moment, because for all she knows, maybe it did. 


	7. grilled cheeses, blood, and flimsy excuses

When Emma wakes up, she and Regina are quite literally tangled together. Regina is snoring lightly, face turned towards Emma, buried in the top of her hair, Emma leaning into Regina’s chest. Regina’s arms are still wrapped around Emma, one of them resting on the small of her back where her tank top hiked up some in her sleep, and Emma has one hand behind Regina’s neck, the other over her waist. One of the the vampire’s legs is in between Emma’s and one of Emma’s in between hers, and Emma thinks about drifting back to sleep until Regina shifts just enough to make Emma entirely too aware of the lack of space between them, specifically where Regina has nestled her knee, which suddenly moves unconsciously against Emma, and she can’t stop the way she suddenly jumps back, nearly falling out of the bed, startling the vampire awake.

Emma crawls back next to Regina hesitantly, half trying to pretend like she hadn’t just launched herself out of bed and half trying to reassure a now panicked Regina that she didn’t mind the closeness, but it’s too late. Regina is staring at Emma, mouth agape, and Emma’s cheeks are entirely too flushed. She thinks about what Snow said, about hearing Emma’s blood flow, and she wonders how true that is. Regina swallows hard and looks away from Emma, and she thinks Snow might have been right about at least a few things. She decides not to say anything.

Regina clears her throat, still not looking at Emma. “How are you feeling?”

“What?” Emma croaks, her voice sounding raspy and horrible, so she clears it too, thoroughly embarrassed, something that only gets worse when she remembers she still doesn’t have on pants. She slips back under the covers.

“After last night, how are you feeling?”

Emma blinks, “I think it made me feel better?”

Regina looks over at her quizzically, “Last night made you feel better? Emma, you got beat up.”

“O-oh. That. Sorry, I got confused. I thought you were talking about…” she trails off, stopping herself. “Nevermind. I feel a lot better. You know, sleep and stuff. It’s pretty helpful.” Regina smiles, brows still furrowed together, but nods anyways. The two sit in silence for a moment before Regina suddenly gets up and leaves, returning with the first aid kit. “Uh…”

“Don’t even argue with me, Swan. You’re getting another check up.” Emma groans, but lets Regina apply more antiseptic to the wounds on her face, if only to feel the vampire's skin against hers.When Emma gets up to change, Regina looks away, laughing when she hears the low growl of her stomach across the room. “Are you hungry?”

Emma snorts, “Am I alive?”

“You've got a point there,” Regina says, laughing along with her. “How about I cook for you?”

“ _ You _ know how to cook?” And if Emma looks amazed, it's because she is. 

“You sound so surprised.” Emma continues to gape at her. The woman lives off of blood, doesn't have a kitchen in her crypt, yet she knows how to cook? “You forget, I fed your mother for years, remember? When she ate, you know, actual food.” Emma nods and Regina awkwardly glances away, seemingly just as aware as Emma is that this particular subject has never come up casually in conversation between them, and all of Emma's questions come flooding back to her. She knows Regina is not  _ technically _ Snow’s stepmother  _ anymore _ , but she's more curious about the former roles the woman had, and if their age gap, despite it not  _ looking _ that serious, bothers the vampire. 

Ultimately, she decides not to bring it up. “What are you gonna make for me?” Emma grins, giddy at the thought of Regina making something just for her. 

Regina squints her eyes, humming in thought. “I don't know, what do you like? What's your favorite food?”

“Grilled cheese,” Emma says, eyes bright. 

“Grilled cheese,” Regina deadpans, before a smile breaks out across her face. Emma thinks it's the most precious thing she's ever seen. “Okay. Grilled cheese it is.” Regina gets up to head to the kitchen, but Emma leaps off the bed to stop her. 

“Wait, wait, wait!” Regina turns to her frowning, amusement still etched in her eyes. Mostly she looks exasperated, and damn it all if Emma doesn't find that adorable too. “I gotta close the blinds for you! Can't have anything happening to you, can we?” So she runs her way through the house, making sure all the sunlight is hidden, telling Regina to stay put until it's all done.

When she finally sees the house fit for Regina to move around safely, she returns to her room, where Regina has changed (into some of Emma’s clothes no less) and is patiently perched at the foot of Emma’s bed. She gives Emma a look that just screams was-that-really-necessary but can't keep her face straight for long, the longer Emma gives her the cheesiest smile she can manage. “So, grilled cheese?”

“Grilled cheese,” Emma repeats, leading the vampire through the hallway, harmless and void of natural light. 

In the kitchen, Emma can't help but stare at the brunette as she makes the perfect grilled cheese, so perfect in fact that Emma asks for two. Regina smirks at her, “It’s just grilled cheese, Emma.”

“I know, but… you made it.” And Regina ducks her head, putting all her attention on Emma’s lunch. Emma vaguely wonders if Regina is blushing. She looks so focused and so human that Emma’s heart swells. If she had any doubts about protecting Regina, they’re all certainly gone now. She doesn’t think she’s made a better decision than letting the vampire become such a staple in her life. 

Regina turns to look at her over her shoulder, eyes wide under Emma’s swoony gaze. “What?” Emma snaps out of it.

“What?” And Regina just chuckles, shaking her head and turning back to put Emma’s grilled cheese on a plate. She hands it to her and smirks when Emma doesn’t hesitate to stuff it in her mouth. “It’s s’good,” she says with her mouth full. She stares thoughtfully at Regina, waiting to speak until she swallows this time. “Maybe I should feed you sometime.”

She doesn’t realize the implications of her words until they’re already out of her mouth, and Regina’s eyes widen significantly, and she is  _ definitely _ blushing and trying to occupy herself with anything in front of her, which, unfortunately for the vampire, is nothing. Emma just stares, holding her breath, trying to think of some way to make everything less weird. She makes a weird noise at the back of her throat that is probably more unhelpful than anything, so she snaps her mouth closed. 

Her brain is still searching for some kind of remedy, but somehow she ends up considering feeding Regina as a real possibility, as much as she’s trying not to.  _ Don’t imagine Regina slipping towards you slowly, eyes dark, and  _ definitely _ don’t imagine her taking your hair and softly brushing it away to expose the pale flesh of your neck. Don’t imagine Regina running her tongue from your collarbone to your ear and leaving soft kisses up and down your jawline before sinking her teeth hard into your neck. Don’t imagine Regina tugging desperately at you, gripping your waist underneath your shirt or tangling one of her hands in your hair. Don’t imagine her moaning at the taste of you _ \--

Suddenly Emma realizes that she’s definitely thinking about it, extremely vividly at that, and there’s no question what kind of blood flow is happening in her body right now. She returns to the present to find that she’s staring at Regina’s lips in a completely unsubtle way. Her eyes flash to Regina’s just in time to catch that they were flitting upwards as well, dark as hell, and that’s something Emma doesn’t know what to do with so she lets out a deep breath and shifts in her seat before returning to her grilled cheese. Regina clears her throat a couple of times and turns to clean up. Emma wishes she could read minds.

“I hope I’m not missing anything,” Emma says suddenly, jumping when Regina drops the frying pan into the sink. She shyly admits that it slipped, but the way she says it has Emma convinced that that isn’t at all what happened. It’s weird until Emma thinks about it, blushing again when she realizes that wasn’t the best transition for their conversation. “Uh… I mean, I’m hoping I’m not missing anything at school.”

“Oh.” Regina turns off the water and turns back to Emma, eyes on the floor. “You probably aren’t missing much. Aren’t most days usually the same?”

“That’s an understatement.”

“Besides, August is bringing home all your assignments, so I’m sure you’ll be caught up in no time.” Emma rolls her eyes, groaning dramatically, because she can but mostly because she wants Regina to look at her with her signature smirk again. She thinks she’s made the vampire uncomfortable, but she doesn’t want to be the one to bring it up. Regina looks up at her and Emma’s plan is successful. _ There’s that smirk _ . “Here, let me wash that too.” Regina scoops up Emma’s empty plate and turns back to the sink.

“You know, you don’t have to do that.”

Regina shrugs. “I want to help.”

“Well you’ve certainly been really helpful. I feel one hundred percent better,” Emma says with a grin that Regina gladly returns, but she stops short when the vampire’s eyes meet hers. Something seems off.

Regina’s smile looks forced, not in the kind of way where she is displeased but rather, uncomfortable. The grimace she’s actively trying not to make is evident in her eyes, which seem more dull and faint in a way Emma’s never seen. Her skin looks almost gray, somehow paler than it should be, and it’s disturbing how quickly her complexion and her composure are dropping. 

The vampire seems aware of Emma’s sudden worry, and she looks away, as if trying to hide, but Emma doesn’t allow it. She jumps up and moves to Regina’s side, tentatively reaching for Regina’s hand in one of hers and putting the back of her other hand to the vampire’s forehead even though she knows it won’t inform her of anything, and Regina seems torn between pulling away and leaning into Emma. She turns her head away but lets Emma keep a gentle grip on her hand.

“Hey,” Emma speaks softly, trying to meet the vampire’s gaze, but Regina seems intent to avoid it. “What’s wrong?” And it’s not as though Regina is usually warm, per se, and she is technically dead, but somehow her skin feels more like ice and less lively than usual. Emma doesn’t like it. She wants to fix it. “It’s not something I said right?” And she chuckles, a feeble attempt at a joke, but it doesn’t take. If anything Regina greys even more.

“It’s nothing,” but she doesn’t sound convinced and that only heightens Emma’s worry. She moves to sit at the island counter, but staggers for a moment and has to grip Emma’s hand and the counter just to stay up. “I’m fine,” she tries again.

“You’re not fine.” Emma pulls Regina towards her, wrapping one arm around her waist and letting Regina’s arm drape over her shoulder. “Let’s get you upstairs, okay? Think you can make it?” She raises her free hand to grip Regina’s, and the vampire gives it an affirmative squeeze.

On the way upstairs, Regina nearly falls twice. The further they go, the more the vampire leans against Emma, and when they finally make it to Emma’s room, Regina slumps onto the bed, her eyes fluttering. Emma is actively trying not to panic, but it’s so hard when she is so lost and so worried, and Regina still won’t talk to her, short of saying “I’m fine” when she clearly isn’t, or “I need to go” when she clearly can’t.

“Regina, you took care of me. Now let me take care of you.” Regina gives her a pleading look and opens her mouth to argue. “If you say ‘I’m fine’ one more time, I swear to god, you’re gonna regret it.” The vampire tries to smirk, but it’s another grimace instead and Emma echoes her expression out of pure concern. “Please. Tell me what’s wrong. I can’t help if you don’t talk to me.” Regina sighs. “You’re so fucking stubborn, you know that?”

“You like it,” Regina weakly mutters. She’s obviously delirious.

“This isn’t a joke, Regina. I’m really worried about you. You look like you’re dying.” Regina opens her mouth again, “Yeah, yeah, I know, but you get what I mean.” And then it hits her. “When was the last time you ate? Or, fed, whatever.”

Regina reluctantly looks up at Emma before ducking her head, almost as if she’s embarrassed. “It’s… complicated.” She finally admits.

“Complicated? What do you mean it’s complicated?” And it’s obvious that Regina doesn’t want to say anything, doesn’t want to tell her, but that just isn’t going to work with Emma, not today. “Regina, just tell me. You can tell me anything; I promise. Trust me.” Regina’s expression softens under Emma’s eyes, and she almost sighs in relief when the vampire starts talking to her.

“I went out last night to feed, but it’s been...difficult. It takes a lot longer than it used to, and it’s not nearly as fulfilling. I’m really new at this. And the only one I could possibly ask for advice is actively trying to kill us.”

Emma blinks, definitely missing something. “What do you mean ‘difficult?’ What are you talking about?”

“I’ve been on a diet of human blood for years, since I was sired. It’s stronger and more filling; there’s more of it, and while feeding off humans may not be the best choice morally, it’s the most efficient. I could make it a couple days off of one kill if I needed to. Other animals… well, they’re smaller. And harder to come across. Their blood doesn’t last as long if you don’t get enough of it.”

“Regina, what… Are you saying that--”

“I gave up human blood.” And Emma doesn’t know what to say. She’d never pried into the vampire’s diet because she didn’t want to put her on the spot, or make her feel like she needed to give anything up. It hadn’t been easy, but Emma had managed, mostly by not thinking about it. But here is Regina, telling Emma that she doesn’t feed off of humans anymore, and Emma only has one question.

“When?”

“The night of the dance.” This is not the answer she is expecting. That night feels like ages ago, before the two of them were even on the same page. Okay, so maybe she has more than one question. 

“Why?”

And Regina hesitates. 

And Emma knows the answer without Regina having to say it, but she says it anyway, and Emma’s glad she does, because it lights her up and fills her up, and she feels driven by some kind of possibility she isn’t sure she should dwell on, but she does anyways.

“I did it for you,” and it’s said so softly, that Emma’s sure she wouldn’t have heard it if she hadn’t been expecting it. Regina sits up on the bed, putting herself closer to Emma, and Emma freezes at the movement, eyes on Regina’s as she looks up at her through her dark lashes. She would definitely be lying if she says she isn’t flattered, but Regina’s less than stellar shape still has her more worried than anything.

The vampire’s heard shakes ever so slightly before she admits, “It’s been fine, but after the events of last night, I don’t think I quite got enough.”

Emma’s intake of breath is sharp, “What have you…” She trails off, suddenly feeling too invasive. And how do you begin to ask someone what kind of animals they’ve been drinking blood out of? Emma’s sure there’s no respectful way to ask that.

Regina’s lip quirks up as if understanding why Emma stopped. “It’s not pleasant. Mostly it’s been… rats. Squirrels. Sometimes a rabbit, and if I’m lucky there’s something bigger. Like a deer. I’d have to leave Storybrooke for anything larger than that, and it takes up more time than I’ve had, with everything going on.”

“Rats and squirrels?” Emma gapes at her. “Regina, I know I’m only a human, but even _ I _ know you can’t survive off of a couple of rats a night. What were you thinking?” She moves her hand to Regina’s cheek protectively, without really thinking about it, and Regina leans into it.

It’s rhetorical, but Regina sputters to answer anyways. She manages to say “I wanted” before her eyes are closing and she’s falling. Emma catches her and leans her back onto the pillows. She tries to open her eyes, to speak again, but Emma rests her hand on the vampire’s arm to stop her.

“Regina, stay here. You need to rest, and you need to eat.” She worries her bottom lip, looking at her floor like it holds all the answers before she returns her gaze to Regina, eyes full of panic and concern. Emma shakes her head, thinking that Regina’s mind went back to their earlier conversation as hers just did. She pulls a blanket over Regina before standing to go. “You better not move, okay? I’ll be right back.” She leaves before Regina can argue.

At first, Emma is wandering aimlessly down the street. It’s not hot outside, but the sun is killing her and she feels dizzy before remembering she’s probably still injured enough for all the activity to be overwhelming. Regina would have stopped her for sure, but it doesn’t matter. She needs her, and she is indebted to the vampire, plus she cares about her. She racks her brain trying to remember what Snow always had to make it through the day, because it definitely wasn’t humans, but she also knows it wasn’t rats and squirrels, and definitely not bunnies.

_ “What the hell do you even eat? I can’t imagine you literally sucking the life out of anything, not even like… a mosquito,” Emma asked Snow one day after patrolling as they hung out at the librarian’s home. _

_ Snow snorted at her. “You can’t suck blood from a mosquito, Emma.” _

_ “Yeah, I know _ I  _ can’t.” The librarian rolls her eyes. _

_ “You know what I mean, smartass. And no, you’re right about more than the mosquito and your lack of a blood sucking ability. I don’t hunt live animals, and I definitely don’t hunt humans.” _

_ “Yeah, I got that.” Emma rolled her eyes, slumping back into Snow’s couch, legs stretched across. “So what  _ do _ you eat? Do you go to like… a blood bank? Like the red cross?” Snow wrinkled her nose, giving Emma a look. _

_ “You know that would still be consuming human blood, right?” _

_ “Right, and you’ve never done that?” _

_ “Not since my siring. And I never plan to do it again.” Emma nodded slowly, pursing her lips, before looking back at the vampire and raising her eyebrows until she answers her question. The room had gotten serious, and Emma wasn’t going to give up so easily. _

_ Snow groaned and got up from her favorite padded rocking chair across the room-- something Emma constantly picked on the vampire for, telling her how having a rocking chair just made her look like a grandma, or someone’s crazy mother, to which Snow would just snort and say “how do you know I’m not,” leaving Emma confused enough to stop talking-- and she made her way into the kitchen. Emma rolled over onto her stomach to peek over at Snow above the armrest. She frowned when her Watcher brought back what looked like a bottle of red wine. _

_ “Okay, one, that doesn’t answer my question, and two, if you give that to me, you know you’d be breaking the law, right?” Snow snorted at her, rolling her eyes as Emma sat up, making room for Snow next to her on the couch. _

_ She pulled the cork out and thrust the bottle into Emma’s face. “Smell it.” On instinct, Emma shrank back, but eventually, hesitantly, creeped forward to sniff the bottle’s opening, face twisting when she did. _

_ “That’s blood,” Emma stated, bluntly. _

_ “Yep!” Snow beamed excitedly, in a way only Mary Margaret could, about blood, no less, but Emma had learned to adapt to the juxtaposition of Snow’s cheery self along with her vampiric identity. However, this was a whole new level. _

_ “Where did it come from? Why the hell do you have it in a wine bottle?”  _

_ “The wine bottle is supposed to be discreet.” Emma glanced into the librarian’s kitchen, where she had an unnecessarily large wine rack. “Okay, well, a teacher having loads of alcohol is far more discreet than having cartons of blood. Besides, most of those are empty, just around for when I need storage. I keep it in my fridge.” _

_ “In the wine bottle?” _

_ “In the wine bottle.” _

_ “Alright, fine, but where does it come from? And why are you bottling it? Honestly, you just get sketchier and sketchier the more I get to know you,” Emma chuckled. _

_ “I doubt there’s anything about me that would totally blow your mind at this point… or at least what’s left of it,” Snow joked. “But seriously, I just got it from the butcher shop. It’s… pig’s blood or something. I don’t really know, and I don’t ask.” _

_ “Don’t they get suspicious? ‘Local high school librarian frequents butcher shop for random animal blood’ seems like a sketchy newspaper header…” _

_ “It does, but I’m fortunate. Bo’s a vampire too.” _

_ “Oh,” was all Emma said.  _

_That’s it_ , she thinks, remembering. She just needs to figure out where the butcher shop is, which leads to more aimless wandering until she finally decides to google it. When she does, it turns out to be right next to her. Go figure. Not sure what to expect from a vampire run place called _The_ _Chop Shop_ , she steps inside, cringing when a bell goes off as the door opens.

It’s dark inside, no sunlight, which makes sense if ‘Bo’ or whoever Snow mentioned is a vampire. What a convenient profession too. When Emma is inside, a weathered woman comes out from a doorway behind the counter. “Hey, can I help you?”

“Uh…” Emma pauses, unsure of how to proceed. Is this woman Bo? Is she going to think she’s a vampire? Oh god, is she going to know she’s the Slayer? And Emma is visibly panicking looking for some way to duck out discreetly, even though that’s completely ridiculous because she’s the only one in the shop and there’s only one door and she’s just walked through it. The woman is now staring at her expectantly, and Emma straightens out.  _ This is for Regina _ . “Uh, yeah, hi. Are you Bo? I uh... I need blood?” Awkward, but it could have been worse.

The woman doesn’t blink, she just stares, sniffing the air, face wrinkling in what Emma thinks is either disgust or confusion or both. She squints at Emma, who crumbles under her steady gaze. “It’s uh...it’s for a friend. She’s…” she trails off. “I know Snow,” she admits, and the woman smirks before going into the back and coming back with a small box. She hands it to Emma.

“On the house,” and then she walks into the back again, leaving Emma mostly bewildered, but relieved that the awkward interaction is over. She doesn’t look back when she steps out the door, and hurries back home, beyond grateful that the packaging is discreet enough to look like take out. Normal, human take out, that is.

The whole way home, she just keeps glancing around, wondering if anyone is suspicious. She actually thinks for a moment,  _ I wonder if any of these people are vampires and can smell the blood  _ before she realizes the sun is out and that’s impossible. Needless to say, she’s glad when she finally gets back home. 

She runs to the kitchen to get some kind of cup for Regina, figuring she doesn’t want to drink out of the bulky container she’d been given, and she’s putting way too much thought into her decision and ends up grabbing one of her go-to coffee mugs that reads ‘fueled by coffee and hate,’ and pours the blood in, rinsing the container and stuffing it in the trashcan. She carefully climbs the stairs, careful not to let the blood spill over the top of the mug,

Emma’s pleased to see that Regina hasn’t moved from her spot, but she’s not pleased to see that the vampire seems to be out cold. She perches next to Regina, setting the mug on her bedside table before helping prop her up to be able to drink. She cooperates but is mostly unresponsive, and Emma turns so she’s facing the same way as Regina, sitting as close to her as possible and putting one hand behind her head and bringing the mug towards her lips. Luckily, Regina perks up enough at the smell and drinks from the mug. Eventually her hand comes to rest on Emma’s, and the blonde smiles when Regina’s eyes finally open and she’s sitting up on her own. She keeps her hand on the back of Regina’s head as the mug gets lowered, half empty, and set back down next to Regina.

The vampire looks at Emma, grateful yet surprised, and when she speaks, her voice is quiet. “You brought me blood,” and it isn’t a question. “You aren’t grossed out?”

“I’m just glad you’re okay,” Emma says, surprised at how breathy she sounds. The greyness is disappearing from Regina’s face, which is no longer weak and expressionless, but full of things Emma is unsure about, and she dares to run her fingers through Regina’s hair. She has her legs curled up next to her, knees resting on Regina’s, and she’s surprised when she finds one of Regina’s hands resting on her leg, and she’s surprised to find that the hand not occupied with Regina’s soft hair makes its way the vampire’s waist, and she’s the most surprised when Regina moves in ever so slightly, eyes dark and roaming Emma’s face in a way that startles her but makes her lean in too.

But the moment is over almost as suddenly as it started when Regina blinks and pulls back, eyeing the mug next to her. She mutters something imperceptible before looking cautiously back at Emma. “Sorry.” She isn’t exactly sure what Regina said or why she’s apologizing, but she has a feeling it has to do with her tasting like blood.

But Emma doesn’t care what Regina tastes like. She would kiss her even if she tasted like tar, or god forbid, broccoli. It’s all Emma can do to tear her eyes away from Regina’s lips, pull her hands from Regina’s body, and offer her back the blood to finish. “You should drink the rest. Get your strength back up.” And Emma smiles, trying to telepathically communicate to Regina that it doesn’t matter, because that’s somehow less embarrassing than admitting it out loud.

She finishes the whole mug and licks her lips as she gives the empty glass to Emma, who’s totally transfixed on the brunette’s mouth again. Regina’s eyes move to Emma’s, and she stands, too quickly, needing some fresh air, or a cold shower, or some space, or all of the above. “I, uh… I’m going to go wash this,” she murmurs, rushing out of the room.

She’s washing the cup when August gets home from school, and he finds her in the kitchen, water steaming as she attempts to scrub blood of an unknown variety out of a mug;  _ of course  _ she would grab a white one, but really, she doesn’t think it’s going that bad, until August comes up behind her and she drops the cup into the sink, a threat to its life, but it remains intact. “Sorry,” August chuckles.

“It’s fine. You just scared me.” Emma pauses to glance over at him. He’s wearing his ‘I’m worried about you’ face, and she has a feeling that it isn’t just about last night. She wonders if he notices the blood. “How was school?”

“It was school. The more important question is… how are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Really.” She shoots August a smile, but that face doesn’t go away. “August, really. I know I still look like I’m in rough shape, but I swear I feel fine. I even took a walk today, and…” She pauses, not sure if she should open this can of green beans, but she does it anyway, words leaving her mouth without her permission, as usual. “Regina made me grilled cheeses for lunch.”

And August’s eyes flicker slightly; he looks away but looks back even faster, and Emma just  _ knows _ what’s coming. “Emma, I need to talk to you about something.” His worried-about-you face is mixed heavily with his please-don’t-hit-me face, and Emma really thinks he has good reason, especially if he’s about to talk about Regina, which she normally wouldn’t allow, but he’s not going to give it a rest until he says what he has to and hears what he needs to.

She turns her attention back to the mug in front of her, which probably doesn’t need any more scrubbing, but she doesn’t care. She wishes her hair wasn’t pulled back so she could hide behind it. “What is it?”

He takes a deep breath, shifting uncomfortably for a moment, and Emma is definitely expecting something like ‘I don’t trust Regina,’ or even ‘you should reconsider being friends with Regina,’ or even something so ridiculous as ‘how can you sleep at night knowing that a vampire is breathing inches away from your neck?’ What Emma isn’t expecting is what actually comes out of August’s mouth. “Do you have feelings for her?”

Her reaction is a giveaway as she turns towards him, jaw dropped, eyes wide, before she looks abruptly away, rinsing the mug and setting it to the side. She doesn’t say anything, and she doesn’t look at August, and she doesn’t even think she breathes. When she chances a look at him out of the corner of her eye, he looks less shocked than she expects him to. “You do, don’t you?” 

She rolls her eyes, still refusing to face him head on. Not answering is an option, but ultimately she knows that a non-answer is an answer, especially when he’s looking at her like the know it all he is. She could be shy about it, but what’s the point? Is she ashamed? No, and she certainly doesn’t want him thinking she is. “Yeah, I do. Do you have a problem with that?” Her voice is louder than she thought it would be, ringing through the silence of the kitchen, and she’s grateful Regina is currently in bed and away from this conversation.

When she meets his eyes, he looks away, trying to hide his face, and Emma doesn’t need him to say it, but he does anyways. She knows he’s just looking out for her, but sometimes she wishes he just wouldn’t. “Look, I don’t care if you’re like… gay or bi or just curious. I love you no matter what, and you know I support the LGBTQ community no matter what, but…” He finally looks back at her, worried face back on. “I really don’t think you should pursue Regina. I think maybe it’s safer for you to reevaluate your relationship with her, whatever that is. Does she--”

“She doesn’t know, and you’re not going to tell her.” 

“Of course not--”

“And you’re not going to tell the others either. Especially not Ruby.” August looks pained for a moment but nods nonetheless. “And I need you to know that I’m not being secretive about this out of shame, or fear of judgement or whatever you guys might think it is. I’m doing this for the same reason anyone else would when they have some kind of weird, totally unexpected, unrequited crush, or any kind of feelings that go against the norm. And it’s not because of the gay aspect.”

“ _ Are _ you gay?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t care right now. All I know and all you need to know is that I trust Regina and I really like her, and I don’t give a damn what you or anyone else thinks about it.” And it’s the most honest Emma has been with anyone about this, including herself, and she would be full of shit if she said she wasn’t surprised. But at the same time, there’s really nothing about it that surprises her. “If you have a problem with Regina, then you have a problem with me too. And that’s just the way it is. And that’s something you can tell the others if you want.”

“Do you know it’s unrequited? I mean, she sleeps here now, doesn’t she? She was wearing your clothes…”

“August, please. You know we can’t protect Regina’s crypt from Snow. And it’s not like she can subtly walk around the school in her normal leather, vampirey outfits.” Emma shrugs, ducking her head as Snow’s words from the night before echo in her head.  _ How can you two ever be together? She’s a vampire, and you’re the Slayer. Everything about your natures are begging you to be enemies, and no matter how much you fight it, that’s all you’ll ever be. _ “Besides, it would be impossible. I’m the Slayer, and she’s a vampire. She doesn’t have a soul, remember? The soul thing is complicated, but at the end of the day even if she could ever love me, I don’t think she would.”

August doesn’t say anything, and Emma can’t blame him. The whole conversation got really heavy, and it’s not as though August is going to be gung ho about comforting Emma’s emotions on something he’s so unsure about. She knows that he’ll come around. Regina saved her life, and he knows that. He just needs to get to know her better, and he’ll see her the way Emma does. Well, maybe not  _ exactly _ how Emma does, but enough for the base of friendship and trust to be there.

Something about the silence feels off, like the conversation is still open, and Emma is racking her brain trying to think if there’s anything she needs to add or if there’s any way to get rid of the awkward when Regina tentatively slips into the kitchen, eyes on Emma, but then on the floor as soon as they make eye contact. _ Did she hear any of that? _ Emma goes over the whole thing in her head, including measuring the amount of silence before Regina walked in and she tries to put her mind at ease.  _ She has vampire hearing, but how far away can she pick up words? I didn’t hear her coming. Could she have been outside the door for the whole conversation, not wanting to interrupt? Did she tune it out? Would it really be so bad if she heard any of it? _

August looks more uncomfortable than the two of them combined so he shuffles out of the room just after Regina enters, muttering about putting Emma’s homework on her desk and everyone coming over later, and Emma gives up on worrying about what Regina may or may not have heard and focuses more on worrying about the vampire herself. “Regina,” she moves over to the brunette with purpose, reaching out her arms, not really sure what she plans to do with them.

Regina kind of holds her hands up, “I didn’t hear anything, I swear,” and okay  _ that _ isn’t suspicious at all, but Emma doesn’t go there. She’s not remotely prepared for the probable devastation  _ that _ conversation would entail.

She shakes her head, “Are you feeling better?” Regina nods, but looks off, distracted, eyes kind of glazed over like she’s entirely focused on whatever her eyes are on. Emma looks, and it’s just the wall. She eyes Regina curiously.

“Actually, I…” The vampire looks back at Emma, focus back on her but her eyes are unreadable and so serious in a way that scares her.  _ She heard, didn’t she? She knows, doesn’t she?  _

“Regina?” Emma prompts. And Regina shakes her head, looks down at the space between them, which has somehow become less than it was a moment ago, and brushes her hand against Emma’s, like she’s debating on holding it before she looks up, everything that was in her eyes just a minute ago now gone. 

“When are your friends getting here?”

And Emma wants to call her out on it. To say ‘that’s not what you wanted to say,’ but she doesn’t. Her relief exceeds her curiosity  _ this time _ , and she swallows. “You mean  _ our _ friends.”

Regina scoffs, “Emma, I know you want everything to be great, but I know they don’t trust me. Maybe one day they will, but until they do, I’m not sure we can refer to them as  _ our _ friends.”

“Fine. They’re getting here at eight.”

“And you should do your homework before they get here.”

Emma gasps, smacking the vampire lightly on the arm, “No! You can’t encourage that kind of responsible behavior. You’re supposed to be on my side. I brought you blood remember?”

“And I made you grilled cheese. So as far as I’m concerned, I owe you nothing.”

So Emma rolls her eyes and trudges up the stairs. She finishes her homework before seven thirty, with Regina reprimanding her every time she tries to distract herself with something that isn’t homework.

Ruby and Neal show up at ten after eight, with pizza, apparently the cause of the late arrival, not that Emma is going to complain. Regina rolls her eyes when Emma evades her friends and beelines for the pizza. “Are you  _ always _ hungry?” She chuckles, following Emma into the kitchen. 

Neal snorts behind them, “You know she is. Especially after last night.” Ruby raises her eyebrows and opens her mouth to contribute but Emma cuts her off immediately.

“Nothing happened!” But all she’s met with are three pairs of eyes blinking at her confused, and one pair stuck somewhere on the floor between her own feet and Emma’s. And then it sinks in that this has nothing to do with spending the night with Regina and everything to do with Snow attacking her. “I mean, I’m fine.”

Ruby’s eyebrows are still raised, and she clears her throat. “Uh, well you look like shit.”

“ _ I feel fine _ ,” Emma argues back. “Regina took care of me. She basically saved my life last night.” All eyes turn to Regina, who’s torn between smiling at Emma and protesting modestly, but Emma isn’t having it. “You did.”

Emma isn’t sure who’s more surprised when Neal launches at Regina, pulling her into an infamous teddy bear Neal hug, but Regina gratefully accepts by returning it. It looks awkward, but Emma is smiling. “Hey, be careful, Regina’s had a rough morning.”

Ruby looks between the two of them, “Did something else happen?”

“Let’s just say Emma wasn’t the only one getting saved recently,” Regina softly says. 

“What, from Snow? Was this today?”

Regina looks nervous about the subject, understandably, so Emma steps in. “Ah, it wasn’t Snow. It was just that… well, Regina was hungry.” Emma tries to think of the most succinct way to explain, but stopped herself, deciding just to cut to the chase. “Regina gave up human blood.”

“You did?” August is gaping at her in a way that makes Emma sure he’s reconsidering some of his earlier words. Neal and Ruby are wearing similar looks, clearly impressed. Regina blushes, turning away from the others, but giving Emma a great angle of her adorable and embarrassed face. “Why?”

And Regina’s answer is as simple as it was earlier, though far less telling, and Emma is grateful, for obvious reasons, but also because it’s probably what all her friends need to hear. “I want you guys to trust me. And how could you if I’m actively killing humans?”

“Touché,” Neal grins.

“So,” August starts, “This is recent? You’re having a hard time adjusting?”

“Not exactly… It has been hard adjusting, but what happened today was more because last night it took a lot out of me, and I hadn’t had enough. The change isn’t  _ that _ recent. I mean it is, but...”

Emma groans at Regina’s cryptic, beating around the bush reply and blurts out the answer for her, hoping in retrospect that it’ll be okay. “She quit the night of the dance.” 

Neal stops chewing mid slice to look up in shock, while August cocks his head and crosses his arms, impressed. Ruby snickers, “Well we know what that means.” And Emma smacks her arm. “Hey!” 

“Shut up, Ruby, nothing you say makes any sense.” 

August raises his eyebrows at Emma, amused to know more than the other two. “Uh, do you guys want to get started?”

“Yes! Please!” Emma is far too enthusiastic about the subject change, but she doesn’t care because her too-drastic reaction puts a smile on Regina’s face, and it means the subject is changing. “Hey, Regina, you want some pizza?” She asks, suddenly casual, while helping herself to a plate. Regina makes a face and Emma just shrugs. “Your loss.”

Eventually they’re all settled at the dining room table, pizza and drinks and books all over the place. Ruby and Neal gossip about school and drama, entertainment for dinner. Emma can’t help but giggle at Regina, who not only isn’t eating, but is entirely invested in the conversation, and Emma can’t help herself from commenting. “Maybe I should have gotten you some popcorn for this totally boring story, or some kind of snack,” she laughs.

Ruby breaks from her story to snort, “Emma, maybe _you_ _are_ the snack.” And okay, that was totally uncalled for. Emma is too embarrassed to defend herself or Regina so she just hides behind the guise of another bite of pizza. 

No one says anything until August says, point blank, “Ruby, don’t you have better things to be talking about?”

She rolls her eyes. “Right. So we don’t have much in the way of plans, but I figure that it might benefit us to know where Snow’s been staying, since all we know it isn’t at her house or in the library. I know we’ve seen her around a few times, but really that doesn’t tell us much. But anyway, I thought if we could find her, we would know where and how to approach her, if we ever manage to figure out how to get her soul back. Or we could spy on her. Find out what she’s up to. Cause I bet she’s planning something, honestly. How else would she be spending all her time?”

Emma shrugs. “It seems possible. Regina, you know her best, what do you think?” She turns to the brunette next to her with an encouraging smile.

She glances at Emma, returning the smile with her eyes before nodding at the others. “It does seem possible. However, I’ve only ever known Snow when she’s had a soul, so really I’m as lost as you are. I do know that losing a soul is a really dark process. The more pure someone was, the darker they become. My mother was virtually the same before and after her sire, as she never had a soul. And I… well, I was the same in some ways except that I had lost my ability to feel positive emotion. Snow was essentially pure, which means she’s become darker than we can imagine, and really, all evidence points to that. We should be prepared for anything at this point.”

“Exactly. I really think it’s best not to rule anything out,” Ruby says with a pointed glance at August. 

“Look, sorry, I just don’t like how we’re going about this; it’s too dangerous.”

“August, I’ve told you, I’m managing this werewolf thing really well. I’ve been doing a lot of research about herbs and meditation that helps me focus, so I can always stay in control of my mind and my abilities. I’m a lot safer hunting her in my wolf form because I’m stronger. I don’t want to keep arguing with you about this.”

“Yeah, but Ruby, you see what she did to Emma,” August gestures at Emma’s still wounded face, exasperated. “We don’t want something like that, or something worse, happening to you.”

Emma shrugs, “I think it’s actually a really great idea. I’m honestly not sure _ I _ could track her, and I’m sure I can take her in a fight, but Ruby in wolf form is our best bet right now.”

“I’m with Emma,” Neal agrees.

Then they all turn to Regina, who looks surprised. “You want  _ my _ opinion?”

Neal chuckles, “Yeah, of course. I don’t care what anyone says, you’re one of us now.”

Emma reaches for Regina’s hand without even thinking. “See, I told you.” But she pulls away quickly, hoping Ruby hadn’t noticed and isn’t on the verge of making a super weird comment. Regina offers her a soft smile before looking to Ruby and nodding.

“I think it’s a good plan. Risky, yes, but  _ everything _ is risky at this point.”

August’s eyes are still skeptical as he glances between all of them, he sighs before speaking again, shaking his head ever so slightly. “I get what you’re all saying. Believe me, I do. And Emma, you know I believe in you. I’ve seen how capable you are, but  _ look _ at you. Snow nearly killed you last night. I’ve never seen you coming away from a fight looking that bad. I’m just not sure any of us really  _ could _ take her on alone.”

“August--”

“I’m serious, Emma. I know you’re strong, but it seems like we’re dealing with someone stronger than any other vampire.”

“No, look. Last night was different. She caught me off guard, for one. And second, she started the fight by taunting me. Not in a make-me-mad way, but in a way that would leave me vulnerable and sad. She wanted me to be weakened, and her plan worked.”

“And how do we know she won’t do that again?”

“She will, definitely,” Emma nods, voice full of certainty, “But it’s not going to work again. I won’t let it.

“How do you know it won’t?” August questions.

Neal also looks unsure. “Yeah, what did she even say? If she got to you that bad before, it must be pretty serious…” Everyone is looking at Emma, with concern, curious as to what could have been bad enough for Emma to let her guard down entirely. She puts all her energy into avoiding her friends’ eyes, especially Regina’s, but she can feel the vampire’s eyes on her too, and her heart picks up and she curses herself in her head and tries to make it stop. She can’t, and everything is reminding her of what Snow  _ did _ say. 

For a moment it feels like she’s right back in that place, and the silence around her makes her feel like she’s falling through hollow space, and it’s not until she feels Regina’s hand resting on hers that she feels sparked back to the present.  _ Am I sure Snow can’t get to me again? _ “She didn’t say anything. It doesn’t matter,” Emma tries to brush it off.

“Obviously it’s important. Emma, we want to help you,” August tries. He has her best interest, but Emma just wishes that right now he would just let it go. “Regina, did you hear anything she said?” And Emma is frantic.  _ Did she? _

Regina simply says, “No,” and Emma can’t tell if she’s telling the truth or not. She chances a look at Regina out of the corner of her eye, and Regina squeezes her hand lightly before pulling her own hand back. She gives Emma a reassuring smile. “It doesn’t matter. If Emma says she has it under control, we should trust her. When’s the next full moon?” 

“A couple of nights from now, which means that tonight and tomorrow are my last human nights. Whatever we plan needs to be this weekend. We can talk more about that tomorrow if you guys want.” They shrug at Ruby who seems satisfied with the response.

“What do you think Snow’s up to?” Neal asks, breaking a comfortable moment of silence.

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Emma sighs. What could she be up to? She’d said something about revenge when she’d run into her the first time, and revenge on her as well as Regina. She has a few thoughts on what Snow could have in mind, but she hasn’t dared to speak them, and even if she did, the only one she could really confide in about it would be Regina.

It just would seem so appropriate for Snow to follow the same pattern of revenge that Regina laid out for her, as Cora had done for Regina. She wasn’t sure exactly how she could make that happen, but the idea of transforming Emma into a vampire and leaving her to kill her friends seems like the kind of thing to worry about. As for Regina, she had no idea. She looks over at the vampire, whose eyes are on hers as the others chatter around them. “Are you okay?” She asks softly. Emma nods, a half assed smile taking its place, and she knows Regina isn’t convinced, but she’s not going to push her.

For now, Emma’s going to try not to worry. They’re safe in the house, and tomorrow will bring more planning. They’ll figure something out, and she doesn’t need to make matters worse by bringing up Regina and Snow’s past without their permission or proposing such a disturbing revenge fantasy with her friends, because all they would do is imagine worse things that Emma refuses to let herself think about. She might bring it up to Regina sometime, but more than anything she wants to deny the possibility of all of it. She decides to wait until they know something.

August sighs, “We probably should turn in, since you’re gonna need all the rest you can get, Ruby.”

“Wait, are you saying you’re supporting my plan?”

“I mean, I trust you. All of you.” August even glances at Regina, which warms Emma’s heart. She wonders again if Regina notices. “We’ve got each other’s backs, and Regina really had a point. Everything about this is risky, and for now, this is our best shot. I’m sure none of you really like it, per se, so I need to just get on the same page.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to like it to support it.” Neal states.

Emma snorts, “That sounds cryptic and weird.”

Ruby shrugs, “Seems legit to me. Anyway, are we just gonna stay here? I don’t want to wake up tomorrow looking as shit as Emma looks right now.”

“Hey!”

“All I’m saying is that it’s dark, and I need my energy. If I have a run in with Snow, I’d rather be a wolf than a human, and Neal doesn’t need to die anytime soon.”

“Agreed,” murmured Neal. “I’m not opposed to being bait, but only if it’s for a cool scheme. Getting snatched up by your high school librarian in the dead of night just to get eaten isn’t exactly on my to-do list.”

August grimaces, “Yeah, I have a feeling we’ll all be having a lot of sleepovers until we get all this sorted out.” He smirks at Emma, who blushes and jumps to her feet too fast, knocking the chair over.

“Okay! Well,” She picks the chair up from behind her and pushes it in. “I don’t know about you guys, but today has been incredibly long, and I am so tired, I could fall asleep sprawled across this table.”

“Please don’t.”

“Shut up, August, I was just kidding. I’m going to bed. Let’s go, Regina.”

Regina stands to follow Emma up the stairs, and Ruby wolf whistles. Emma shoots her a glare over her shoulder, “ _ Good night, Ruby. _ And everyone else.”

Upstairs, Regina and Emma settle into bed, not touching, and in fact, Emma is scooted all the way to the end of the bed because she can’t stop thinking about her not totally unpleasant way of waking up this afternoon, and if Regina can really hear blood flow as well as Snow seems to think she can, she doesn’t want to end up in a similar situation, especially not while Regina’s still awake and alert.

But if there’s one thing Emma hates, it’s sleeping on the edge of the bed.

So she rolls around, scooting more towards the middle, and she definitely thinks she’s imagining it when Regina seems to copy her movements. It feels like an hour passes and Emma can’t quite make herself comfortable. She knows it hasn’t been very long and she hasn’t moved around  _ that _ much, but she’s starting to get self conscious about it anyways. 

Regina seems to be tossing and turning just as much as Emma is and she’s torn between feeling guilty because she’s the one hosting Regina, and she  _ should _ be making her comfortable and validated in her inability to sleep. She’s not really sure what’s keeping her up, but she thinks that whatever tension is filling the room is making it impossible for her to get comfortable. 

She tries to break it by starting conversation, and finally she blurts out the first thing that comes to mind, “But why do you even sleep at night?” Her voice is loud through the quiet, and for a minute she thinks she should have kept the quiet, but Regina half chuckles, and the sound is beautiful enough to keep from guilt, and Emma almost shivers at the thought of Regina producing a full on giggle.

“Um, well…” The vampire stammers, which isn’t what Emma is expecting. She’s normally so composed, and she always has the right words, but right now she seems to have lost them all. “I sleep because… well, it’s just routine? You know?”

“Routine?”

“Yeah.” And Emma doesn’t even know what to say about that. It’s the most flimsy excuse she’s ever heard, and she knows a thing or two about flimsy excuses. Vampires are supposed to be nocturnal, and Regina has been a vampire for… Emma tries to do some basic math in her head, figuring a number she’s been avoiding, and ultimately she concludes that Regina’s been a vampire for  _ at least _ thirty years now. There’s no way she would still have such a normal human routine of sleeping at night. Emma doesn’t know the real reason Regina sleeps at night now, but she has a feeling it has to do with her and she smiles to herself, not pushing it.

Regina must be worried Emma’s going to challenge her on it because she decides to fill the silence. “Hey, you know earlier?” She starts.

“Uh, yeah?” Emma says, not knowing where Regina is taking this.

“When you and August were in the kitchen?”  _ Oh _ . “You guys seemed… I don’t know. Tense? I just wanted to make sure everything was okay. What were you guys talking about?”

Suddenly it’s Emma’s turn to put her flimsy excuse skills to good use, except that she doesn’t think of anything good before her mouth starts running, and she finds herself at a new low. She could have said August told her she couldn’t become an astronaut and it upset her, and  _ that _ would have been a better excuse. “He’s got a crush on someone at school who like, drinks too much soda. Uh… I’m worried it’s gonna be a bad influence on him.” It’s the most utterly stupid thing, and if the dead silence that follows her answer is any indication, Regina agrees.

“I see,” Regina drawls.

“Yeah,” Emma mutters. She opens her mouth to make herself sound more convincing, but she thinks better of it.

“Well, you might be onto something. He did drink two sodas with his pizza tonight,” Regina says seriously, and Emma is convinced for longer than she’s willing to admit that Regina totally bought her excuse.

“You’re right! He did! Dammit!” She’s actually angry about it before she realizes that this entire scenario is the most false hypothetical to ever exist, and Regina starts to laugh. Emma looks over at her, genuinely offended. For all Regina knows, Emma’s actually worried about August’s health. “Excuse you.” She retorts, smiling despite it all.

“That’s just the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“You’re the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.” It’s not her best comeback, but it keeps Regina laughing for a bit longer until it dies back down, and Emma thinks it feels significantly more comfortable as she’s now in a totally normal position on the bed in relation to Regina. A friendly distance. Maybe even a best-friendly distance.

“Hey, Emma?” Regina’s voice comes out timid, and it makes her heart flutter.

“Yeah?” She responds, just as timidly, turning to look at Regina. She’s lying on her back, eyes on the ceiling. The room is dark, but Emma can see her so clearly, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth, sucking on it nervously. She doesn’t look at Emma but her eyes shift like she can feel Emma’s eyes on her. Emma thinks to look away, but she can’t bring herself to do so. Regina just looks so exquisite, somehow illuminated in the total darkness of Emma’s room.

Regina opens her mouth and then closes it, before taking a deep breath through her nose, and Emma wonders what the point is, if she doesn’t necessarily need air. Does it make her feel better? She wonders what other basic human functions vampires don’t need, but Regina seeks out anyways. Finally, Regina closes her eyes and asks, “Why do you still want me to stay here with you?”

The answer is easy to Emma. “You make me feel safe.” She’s never had a more authentic response to anything, and it’s so true that she feels it like it’s a part of her. She sees a single tear rolling silently down the side of Regina’s face, and she brushes it away without thinking. Regina keeps her eyes closed, and all Emma can think is that she wants to kiss the spot on her face left stained by that tear.

But she doesn’t.

She just looks at Regina, and she’s content in just lying next to her, but part of her wants to curl up in her arms. They cuddled before, but there were circumstances, and she still wasn’t totally sure if Regina would welcome her. She debates the whole thing, thinking about this morning, and how Regina had brought Emma close to her. On some level, conscious or unconscious, Regina must have liked their closeness. Would she still like it now?

She can’t tell if Regina’s asleep, since she can’t use her breathing as a clue, but she doesn’t think she can stand just looking at Regina from across the bed any longer. Her chest feels tight and her hands feel fidgety and tingly, like they would be suited for a better purpose, such as holding Regina or stroking her hair or touching her at all.

So she goes for it.

She rolls over on her side, resting her front against Regina and wrapping one arm around the vampire’s waist, draping a leg on top of Regina’s, and nuzzling into her neck, subtly taking in her scent and letting out a contented sigh, feeling like she can finally breathe again, entirely comfortable.

When Regina responds to the contact by wrapping her arms around Emma, she kind of freezes momentarily, wondering if Regina is actually awake, but she doesn’t really care, because Regina is holding her too, and she’s more at ease than she thought possible. 

It doesn’t matter if Regina’s awake or asleep, or if she thinks Emma is awake or asleep. It doesn’t matter that Regina is a soulless vampire, or that Emma is the Slayer. It doesn’t matter that Regina was born years and years before Emma, or that Emma is the daughter of someone threatening both their lives. It doesn’t matter that Emma almost died last night, or that Regina is technically dead right now, or that either of them could be dead tomorrow. In this moment, they are wrapped up in each other, relaxed in the embrace of the other. The threats and imminent doom can wait.

Regina pulls Emma closer, and Emma smiles into her neck.


	8. are you ready to be strong?

Emma feels herself waking up but she doesn’t want to, so she just stays still with her eyes closed hoping that it’s not actually time to get up. She’s still wrapped around Regina, cuddled into the vampire with her arms latched around her waist, face tucked against her chest. She wonders what Regina’s heart would be doing if she had a functioning heartbeat. She wonders if Regina’s awake. 

The answer to her second question is answered when she feels Regina’s hand drifting across her back. Emma hums at the contact, pressing closer into Regina, and she’s so comfortable that she doesn’t care if it’s weird. Plus, being half asleep doesn’t hurt. She’s pretty sure if she was fully awake, her fear would outweigh her desire to snuggle. But it almost doesn’t matter because she’s going to let Regina’s soft touches lull her back to sleep.

It seems that Regina has other ideas. “Emmaaaa,” she sing-songs to the cuddly blonde, the strokes of her hand on Emma’s back becoming more full and intentional, and Emma can’t help but groan and turn to hide her head in Regina’s hair. The vampire chuckles softly. “I know, but we have to get up.”

“No,” she pouts, arms tightening around the vampire.

“Emma…” Regina warns, and Emma ignores it by crawling more on top of her, so that most of her body weight is resting against the brunette. She buries herself deeper into Regina’s hair, and the vampire giggles. She giggles!  _ Like she thinks it’s cute or something _ ! Emma smiles against her neck, awake enough to be aware but not enough to want to move, especially not when she’s this close to Regina. It’s not like she can be in this kind of position while they’re awake and moving, so she’s going to take advantage of this for as long as she can.

For a minute, Regina doesn’t do anything but continue rubbing Emma’s back, and she feels herself dozing off again. But she should have known better because the next thing she knows, Regina has her hands on Emma’s waist, tickling her, and Emma is suddenly flailing, landing on her back on ‘her side’ of the bed, struggling to breathe, and she  _ squeals _ , and she  _ giggles _ , and she’s awake enough now to be embarrassed about the inhumane sounds leaving her mouth.

Regina seems to have a different opinion as she responds to Emma’s high pitched screeches with laughter of her own and even more tickling as if she’s encouraging Emma’s out-of-character noises, and it’s hard for Emma to think past the overpowering sensation of being tickled, but she’s grasping at everything as it happens. Regina’s hands intimately grazing her sides, Regina straddling her, pinning her down to the bed, Regina’s laughter in response to Emma’s own fits of giggles. 

Eventually, she’s able to regain some kind of control as she reaches for the pillow next to her and lightly bats Regina with it, catching her off guard and sending her toppling onto her back next to Emma, who responds immediately, trying to protect herself from any further tickling by copying the position Regina was in before, straddling the vampire. She holds the pillow in front of her like a shield, but Regina is able to sit up and swat it out of the way, revealing the wide grin on her face, and Emma almost passes out when Regina sticks her tongue between her teeth, like she knows the kind of effect it has on Emma, even though she’s almost unsure of it herself until it’s happening.

She’s beaming right back at Regina, and they’re closer than she thought they were, and she finds herself only moving closer, seemingly entranced by Regina’s eyes locked on hers. The desire to close the space between them is overwhelming, and it takes every ounce of energy she has (which isn’t much since she just woke up) not to lean forward and capture Regina’s lips with hers, to tug at Regina’s bottom lip with her teeth, to explore her mouth with her tongue. But she shouldn’t, so she doesn’t, and she bites her own lip instead, ducking her head just in time to miss Regina’s eyes moving towards her mouth as she moves closer to Emma.

But when Emma looks back up, Regina is looking away, expression unreadable, and Emma worries she crossed a line, as she literally has to tear herself away to climb off Regina’s lap and move to her closet to get ready for the day. All she can think about is how she doesn’t want to go a whole day without Regina’s contact. She’s not sure she’ll make it.

They had spent the better part of yesterday sleeping in, taking full advantage of the fact that it was Saturday and the fact that they had well over twenty-four hours until Ruby shifted into wolf form to hunt Snow. Emma pretended to be asleep late into the afternoon just to maintain contact, and during their time researching, Emma had convinced everyone to sit in the living room, managing to plan it so that she and Regina had the loveseat to themselves. She was glued to the vampire’s side at every possible moment, and she hoped she could manage the same today, since school would be taking that away from her tomorrow.

She’s only half thinking when she walks to her closet, back to Regina, and strips her shirt off, leaving her back totally exposed. She wonders if Regina is looking at her, but she’s not bold enough to turn around and find out.

It’s a whole minute later when she finally settles on a shirt, sliding it on, opting out of wearing a bra, and turning around. Regina’s definitely staring at her, and she snaps her mouth shut too quickly. Emma hides her smirk, feeling flattered albeit shocked that Regina was actually  _ gaping _ at her. The vampire clears her throat. “Wow, you’re really comfortable with me, aren’t you?” Her voice sounds thick, and Emma would be lying if she said it didn’t turn her on.

“Says the one wearing my pajamas,” she teases back, sticking out her tongue playfully, and Regina has this dazed look, and Emma is smiling, knowing that she’s the reason for it. She’s pretty sure her day can’t get any better than it is in this moment.

She finishes changing when Regina goes to shower and makes her way downstairs, unable to wipe the smile off her face. When she finds her friends in the kitchen, she actively tries to frown to look like her usual grumpy morning self, but she fails miserably as the smile keeps stretching back out as soon as she manages to make it almost subtle.

August stares at her, and she avoids his gaze as she goes to make her coffee. Ruby goes to stand next to her by the counter. “Morning, Em. What’s got you so happy?” And Emma just shrugs, grin still plastered on her face as she makes coffee for her and Regina, hardly bothered by the curious looks from the others.

Regina comes in at the perfect time, walking right over to Emma who holds out her mug to the vampire, grins matching each other’s. “Just the way you like it.”

“Thanks.” And when their fingers brush as she passes Regina the mug, Emma isn’t in any hurry to finish the exchange, and even after it’s done, she can’t take her eyes off Regina and she forgets anyone else is around until August clears his throat and she jumps, turning in time to see everyone looking away pointedly. 

“So, what’s the plan for today?” Neal asks.

“Uh… the plan for today is to plan. Obviously.” Ruby rolls her eyes. “I don’t really know, but I guess we’ll probably go for some kind of walk, right? Do some subtle daytime snooping? Or some of us will,” she adds, smirking at Regina. “The rest of us can hang out here and research.”

But first, they all try to research. Emma is assigned to Google searching Snow’s father, which is a really conflicting experience for her. For one, he’s her grandfather. Second, he’s Regina’s former husband. Really the whole thing is leaving her staring at his name just typed into the search bar, not even hitting enter to search. She sees Regina peer up at her every so often from over the laptop, and eventually Emma slams it shut. At this rate, with these circumstances, she’s not going to find anything. “I’m going outside.”

“Emma, what--” Ruby starts.

“I don’t wanna be on research duty,” she huffs, making her way to the back door.

Before she gets there, halfway through the kitchen, someone grabs her arm, and she feels a jolt of something warm shooting through her and she doesn’t need the other person to speak to know who it is, but she says her name anyway. “Emma…” Regina’s voice is heavy but it makes Emma feel high, and her touch is cold but it makes Emma feel warm, and just like everything else with Regina, it becomes too much, too fast, and she finds herself pulling away and looking away but standing still as if ceasing her running will make it better.

“Sorry,” she mumbles, and Regina scoffs.

“Sorry?” And then Regina is hugging her, and Emma is torn between wanting to stay in Regina’s arms forever and wanting to run out the door where Regina can’t follow her. It’s a weird thing, to feel something so strongly for someone you shouldn’t, to want something like love from someone who can never give it to you. But she’s hugging Regina back, burying her face into the space between Regina’s neck and shoulder, just for a moment before she pulls away. Regina reaches for her hand. “Emma,” she says again.

Their fingers are intertwined, but Emma pulls away still, and their hands are touching for as long as distance will allow. “I just need some air. I’ll be back, I promise.” Regina smiles at her, and Emma doesn’t understand how her eyes can be so full of trust and care. She smiles back, making sure Regina won’t be touched by sunlight when she opens the door.

Emma just kind of collapses in the grass, lying on her back in the sun, trying to get a grip. She really likes Regina, more than she ever could have anticipated, and she didn’t feel so weird about it this morning, but the research and the reality of the situation seems to have crashed back down on her. It’s clearly ridiculous that Regina could return these feelings. For one, she has no soul. She was also married to her grandfather and was a mother figure to Emma’s  _ own _ mother. She’s a vampire and the product of true evil. If that isn’t a sign that this will end in disaster, Emma doesn’t know what is.

She flinches when she hears the back door open and close, even though she knows it isn’t Regina. “Hey,” Ruby says, the shadow of her tall frame covering Emma’s face so she doesn’t have to squint up at her.

“I just need some air.”

“Yeah, I know. Regina told us. But she’s really worried about you, so here I am.” Ruby shrugs as she sits next to Emma, immediately beginning to fidget by pulling up some of the grass. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, is Regina really worried about me?” Emma remains on her back, eyes still blocked from the sun. She blinks at Ruby in slight disbelief, and Ruby snorts at her.

“You’re really thick sometimes, you know? Anyway, yeah, she’s kind of frantic. She was pacing, and we could actually hear her breathing, which almost never happens, so I knew something was wrong. I made her sit down while I came out here to check on you.” Emma kind of nods, looking back up at the sky.

“I actually thought you guys were dating. I still kind of think you secretly are.”

“What?!” Emma’s eyes go wide.

Ruby scoffs, “Don’t sound so shocked. You guys were acting totally domestic all yesterday and this morning, and you’ve been in a significantly better mood since Regina started staying here with you. I mean, you guys have been sharing a bed. Oh,  _ and _ she wears your clothes. She cooked for you.”

“That’s...I haven’t- I don’t-” Emma sputters, eventually giving up and groaning into her hands. “Rubyyyy,” she whines.

“I knew you were gay, you know.”

“Ruby. I’m not gay.”

“Whatever. The only thing you’re  _ not _ is straight, and don’t even try to fight me on that. You’ll figure out the specifics later, but you can’t tell me you haven’t thought about fucking her. Or at least kissing her. Tell me I’m wrong.” Emma blushes furiously, rolling away from her friend. “Ha! I knew it! Hey, it’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Emma rolls back over and looks at Ruby like her head just did a one-eighty. “Of course it is! We’re enemies, remember? I’m the Slayer and she’s a vampire! She was married to my grandfather for fuck’s sake! How is any of this okay?”

Ruby shrugs, giving Emma a soft smile. “Hey, you can’t help who you love.”

“Love?”

“Well, whatever. If you feel a certain way, it’s usually out of your control. And you never know, maybe this is like fate.”

“Yeah, I doubt it,” Emma scoffs, sitting up to pull at the grass even more aggressively than Ruby. She tosses a handful across the yard. Ruby gives her a look. “What should I do?”

“Talk to her, even though I know you won’t. But you should,” she ignores the glare Emma shoots her. “I hate it when people say ‘you never know,’ but Emma… you really don’t. If you really like her, and I can tell you do, you should at least consider talking to her about it.” Emma remains silent, not looking at her. “Besides, she might already know. You’re not very subtle.”

Emma snaps her head up, “Oh god, you think she already knows?”

“I don’t know. Look, all I’m saying is it’s worth a try. She seems to like you too, but I can’t be sure cause I don’t know her as well as I know you. You know?”

“I guess.” The pair sit in silence for a moment, before Emma changes the subject. “Are they still researching in there?”

Ruby nods. “Yeah, Regina is looking into Snow’s family history, checking to make sure none of them have any connection to Storybrooke. August is looking more into souls, and Neal is just kind of reading. He said he could find something useful in unrelated books Snow had, but honestly I think he just wants to read more about vampires. But who knows, maybe he’ll come up with something. He and I are gonna do a daytime scouting if you want to come with us. August and Regina will probably stay here and research.”

She considers her options for a moment. She’d love to work with Regina, but she probably needs some space to clear her head to think about what Ruby said, as well as to consider the big picture. Plus, it would be helpful if she was more familiar with what Ruby would be dealing with tonight and where she would be dealing with it, just in case. 

The two return inside, and Regina cautiously watches Emma, who gives the vampire a warm smile and sits down next to her. “Do you feel better?” Regina asks, returning the smile.

“Yeah, I do. Hey, so I was thinking. I’ll probably go with Ruby and Neal and help them out. Do you think that’s okay? We can patrol tonight for a little bit when it gets dark. And I can go by...that place, if you want. To get some...stuff. In case you’re… you know.” No one’s listening to her, but she’s vague anyways, just in case.

Regina snickers, “That’s fine. Thanks for getting  _ stuff _ for me.” She’s teasing Emma, but the seriousness of her thanks doesn’t go unnoticed, and neither does the light in Regina’s eyes that Emma’s sure has been growing brighter every day.

She and Ruby and Neal set out shortly after, and they don’t have any leads, so they decide to split up. Since Ruby has the heightened sense of smell and her tracking is superior, she opts to go one way on her own, leaving Neal and Emma to go the other way as a team. They agree to rendezvous at the school in about an hour. It’s not until she and Neal are walking away from Ruby that Emma realizes, she doesn’t know what they’re looking for.

“Neal, do you know where we’re going?” 

He laughs, “Not really, no. I don’t know if you noticed, but I totally wasn’t researching.”

Emma feigns shock, “What?! No, but seriously, August and Regina probably have it covered. I guess we’re just wandering around? I’m supposed to be using my ‘tracking abilities,’ but I’ve never done any tracking in the daytime. I usually just look for… I don’t know. Vampires? But now I don’t know what to look for.”

“You could call August and ask them for some direction?”

Emma hums thoughtfully before pulling out her phone and calling August. He answers on the first ring. “It’s August,” and she knows he answered without even looking at his phone first. He’s probably still reading, only half paying attention.

“Hey, it’s me, listen--”

“Emma? Hey hold on a sec.” And then she hears him mumble something. She hears Regina mumble something. Oh god, he’s embarrassing her again isn’t he? It’s silent for an almost uncomfortably long time before Regina’s voice sounds hesitantly through the phone.

“Hello?”

“Uh, hi? What happened to August? Not that I’m unhappy talking to  _ you _ . I mean, I like talking to you. A lot. But I just…” Emma drops her head in her free hand and starts to groan until she hears Regina laughing on the other end of the line.

“Silly,” she mutters, almost to herself. “August seemed to think you’d rather talk to me. So here I am.” 

“Uh, alright.”

“Is that true?”

“Is what true?”

“Would you rather talk to me?” And when Emma doesn’t immediately respond, Regina moves on. “Anyway, what do you need?”

“Neal and I don’t know what we’re looking for. We didn’t know if you had any leads for us.”

“A vampire Slayer that can’t track, interesting…” Regina tuts.

“Hey, what kind of vampire Slayer tracks during the daytime? This wasn’t my idea, remember? And you damn well know I have good tracking skills. I found you, didn’t I?”

“That you did.”

“See? You know I have mad skills.” Regina half giggles, and Emma can’t help but smile. She’s almost forgotten that Neal is there watching her, until he chuckles and smirks at her knowingly. She blushes and turns around.  _ Not him too _ . 

“I don’t know, I’m not sure I’ve seen all the ways you can put your skills to use,” Regina comments in a sultry yet somehow still totally casual voice.  _ What does  _ that _ mean? _

“Uh,” Emma starts, but her throat has dried out and the sound comes out strangled and she clears her throat. She’s still not sure what to say to that. “I guess there’s only one way to find out,” she manages to say, and she’s shocked that it sounds as guttural as it does,

“I look forward to it.” And her voice affects Emma so much in that moment that she’s glad the vampire isn’t around to hear exactly the way her blood is currently flowing in her body. Regina lets out a throaty chuckle like she knows anyway, and Emma almost drops on the spot. “Anyway, maybe you could just go by Snow’s house, since you haven’t been there since the incident. For all we know, she’s actually staying there, though I doubt it. Or she’s taken stuff out and moved it. Start there. We can worry about your  _ skills _ later.” 

“Uh, yeah. Okay. Sure, I’d like that.” She hangs up, leaving Emma speechless, among other things.

“Emma?” Neal suddenly asks from behind her, and she jumps.

“Yeah?” She asks, even though she’s sure she doesn’t need to hear his question or comment or whatever he’s about to say. After her recent conversations with August and Ruby, it doesn’t take much to figure it out.

Neal looks conflicted for a moment, his bottom lip in his mouth, brows furrowed together. He opens his mouth and starts to talk but stops as soon as he starts. After a minute, he finally says, “I just want you to know that I like Regina a lot, and I also really like you. I’m not gonna ask you about anything you probably don’t want to talk about, but I support you, and I’m here for you, and… yeah. Regina’s cool.”

Emma can’t help but blush, knowing what he’s getting at. She’s grateful that he’s not interrogating her like the rest of her friends, but she’s not feeling great about the assumption either. “Thanks, Neal, but uh, nothing’s going on you know.”

“Well,  _ when _ it does, I support you.”

“When?”

Neal smiles, “Yeah,  _ when _ . I know I’m not as smart as August and Ruby, but I  _ do _ have eyes.” Emma looks at him, confused.

“What does that have to do with anything?”

Letting out a sigh, he continues, “All I’m saying is that I see how she looks at you. It’s so different than how she looks at everything else. But don’t overthink it okay? Just be Emma.” He gives her arm an encouraging squeeze, shoots her a reassuring smile, before he continues. “Now, where did she say for us to look?”

The two of them go to Snow’s house, and it’s about what they expected. The place looks and feels and smells like no one has been living there, but they notice some things missing. It looks like the place was ransacked, and Emma knows immediately that it’s because Snow was looking for her books, probably hoping to hide them.

She’s taken a few things, but nothing worth mentioning, and from what it looks like, she’s taken enough to be able to set up camp somewhere, but nothing gives them an indication of where, just that it isn’t here. Since they still have time to kill, the two of them go to snoop in the graveyard across the street just for good measure. They break into some crypts, hoping the sunlight will be enough to protect them when they yank the doors open, but also so that they won’t accidentally kill their librarian. 

The search comes up empty, and when they meet up with Ruby, she seems much more hopeful. “So, I did what you guys did...only I didn’t actually go into any crypts, I just sniffed around to see if I could pick up her trail. If I had found her in a crypt, I don’t think I would have been able to fight her. Like this anyway.”

“Should we all go back and look? Since I can take her?”

Ruby shrugs, looking up at the sky, “We probably have enough time to, but we’d be cutting it close. I don’t want to risk it. I think I have a good enough of an idea to look tonight, and then we can always come tomorrow or I can look tomorrow night again. We have some options.”

“Yeah that’s probably best. The sun is already going down.” Neal gestures at the school, “Did we need to snoop here too? She could be camping out in the basement.”

Ruby shakes her head, “Her smell is gone from the school. I don’t think she’s been here since she lost her soul. But we can take a look if you want. Emma?” 

“Ah, I have to go by the store, so can I do that while you guys look? To save time?” Neal and Ruby exchange confused looks, but they nod regardless. “I’ll meet you at the house?”

“Sure.” And Emma dashes off, making sure they aren’t following her before she starts the journey to The Chop Shop. It’s almost like Bo is waiting for her when she walks in, and Emma is suddenly nervous like the last time, the woman’s intense stare reminding her that they’re enemies by nature.

“So, the Slayer’s back,” Bo smirks.

“Uh…” Emma hesitates before just vaguely answering with the truth. “Yeah, I’m here for a friend. She needs blood.”

“Not Snow, though.”

“No. Do you know what’s happened to her?” Emma asks, maybe she can get some information, if Bo’s seen her.

The vampire smacks her lips together before answering, “I don’t know what’s happened, but I know I haven’t seen her in a week and I know I’m the only person in Storybrooke who sells blood. So that means she’s either left town, which I find to be unlikely, given that she’s settled here; the only people that have any significance in her life, which granted, are few and far between, are all here. Everyone else was taken from her or is missing. Given her tendencies for hope, she’s not going to leave in case her lost love can somehow track her down.”

“Do you know anything about him?”

“Sorry, kid. I don’t.” Bo puts her hands on the counter, hanging the subject. “So, blood huh? Must be a good friend to be friends with the Slayer. He got a soul?”

“He?”

“Oh, sorry,  _ she _ . Guess I can see you as the type.”

Emma blinks.  _ Oh, she means that kind of friend _ . “Uh…”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Really. I am curious though, why come here for blood when she could drink yours? I mean, not to kill you or sire you of course, just enough to get by. If it’s consensual that is. The blood of a Slayer is  _ very _ powerful,” She says with a wink, and Emma isn’t totally sure what to think about that, but part of her muses that it’s a great idea, especially if  _ her _ blood really is powerful.

“Yeah, maybe I’ll mention it to her.”

“You should. It’s a lot cheaper, as long as she knows when to stop. Speaking of money, it’ll be five dollars,” She says before going into the back and coming out with a package similar to the one she picked up yesterday. “Five dollars and the promise that you won’t slay me or send anyone here to slay me, got it?”

Emma nods as she hands her the five dollars and takes the bag. 

She makes it home before Ruby and Neal, and she counts her blessings when she walks in through the kitchen and Regina is the only one at the table. She smiles when she sees Emma, and Emma’s stomach flips. She looks around, but before she can ask Regina shrugs, “He’s in the bathroom.” 

“Uh, alright, yeah. Cool.”  _ Cool? Seriously? _ She clears her throat. “Anyway, I brought you something. She wiggles her eyebrows and goes into the kitchen to get a mug for Regina, one she thinks will be easier to wash this time. She pours the blood in, and when she turns around, Regina is right behind her, inches away, and Emma swears her eyes are  _ smoldering _ as she grins at her, and all Emma can do is swallow and offer up the mug, and it’s like this morning with the coffee, only in slower motion and they’re alone.

Regina places her hands on Emma’s and leaves them there as she puts the mug to her lips to drink, her fingers still on Emma’s when she lowers it, and she licks some residue blood off her upper lip, eyes never leaving the blonde’s. Emma considers that the blood should disturb her, but she can’t seem to feel anything other than deeply aroused, and she feels her face going red like the contents of Regina’s dinner. The vampire gives her a knowing smirk before taking the mug from Emma and raising her eyebrows as she returns to the dining room table, leaving Emma standing in the kitchen, dumbstruck and in some state of paralysis. 

She nearly jumps out of her skin when the door opens and Neal and Ruby enter. “Oh hey, Emma!” Neal waves as he lumbers into the dining room, while Ruby winks at her like she can read her mind. Emma finally manages to roll her eyes and follow her friends. 

Ruby’s catching Regina and August up on what they found out - which is to say, nothing - before Ruby leaves to go get ready for the night. August insists on doing more research, but Neal manages to convince him to play video games instead. “You’re freaking out too much, Auggie. You deserve a break. Let’s go kill some fake people.”

“Grand Theft Auto?” August questions, eyes wide with excitement.

“You know it!” Neal exclaims as the two high five and shuffle into the living room. Regina makes her way to the kitchen to wash the mug, and Emma finds herself following her without much thought.

“Thanks, again.” Regina says from the sink as Emma stands next to her. She inches over until their shoulders are touching, desperate for any kind of contact. She still doesn’t understand how or why she feels so strongly about Regina, but she sure as hell doesn’t want to fight it anymore.

It’s moments like the one they just shared earlier that reminds Emma how much of an eighteen-year-old she really is, stereotypically anyway, and she hopes that this is one way Regina wouldn’t mind Emma’s age. If it ever comes down to sex that is. As in, Emma wants it and is prepared to give it.

She catches herself imagining too much, like what it would feel like to run her tongue up Regina’s jaw line, or grip her ass and pull the vampire’s body into hers, or to take her up against the kitchen counter, but then she feels Regina’s eyes on her, and she feels her mouth go dry. “What?” She rasps before attempting to clear her throat.

“Wow, you were really distracted just now. What were you thinking about? I was just asking if you thought we should go patrolling tonight?”

“Uh… Nothing. It was nothing.” Regina raises an eyebrow. “Anyway,” Emma says, clearing her throat one more time, “Do you really think we need to?“

“Just because Snow is our biggest threat, doesn’t mean she’s the only threat.”

“I guess? What else should we be worried about?”

Regina shoots her an are-you-serious look. She waits for Emma to get it, but there’s no hope because Emma’s eyes are latched to Regina’s neck wondering what it would be like to be the human biting the vampire. Would Regina be into that? Would that be like role playing? Why can’t she stop thinking about it? “Emma.”

“What?” She swallows again, trying to think about anything but sex and where her blood is flowing and the fact that Regina doesn’t need to be a mind reader to know. Luckily she doesn’t say anything, she just rolls her eyes, smirking.

“I’m talking about vampires. You’re the chosen one remember? Your birthright is to save the world from vampires, so shouldn’t we be doing that?”

“You’re going to help me hunt vampires?”

Regina shrugs, “Sure, why not?”

“But you  _ are _ a vampire....”

“So?” Regina makes her way to the stairs. “Come on, it’s almost dark so we ought to get ready.” And Emma follows her, trying not to check her out on the way up the stairs. How she was so in denial until recently blows her mind, but she knows it doesn’t matter. 

When it finally gets dark, Regina and Emma leave the house, armed and ready, making their way to a smaller graveyard in another part of town, where they were sure they wouldn’t run into Snow or Ruby, and Emma thinks about her conversation with the werewolf earlier. Maybe she should consider talking to Regina, especially given Emma’s lack of subtlety. And given Regina’s vampiristic abilities to notice more than normal people, she’s almost certain it’s obvious.

Ultimately it seems logical for Emma to keep her mouth shut. If it’s obvious, and Regina knows, then she can initiate conversation with Emma herself. If she never does, Emma will take that to mean that she isn’t interested in talking about it or having anything to do with it, and that would be enough for Emma. Not  _ exactly _ , but she would have an answer eventually.

Unfortunately, Emma’s mind is still racing. She imagines reaching over for Regina’s hand and entwining their fingers together as they stroll through the graveyard, stakes in one hand and each other’s hands in the other. But she doesn’t do it. 

Regina’s voice makes her jump. “What are you thinking about? You seem distracted.”

She shrugs in response, “Not really? I just… I can’t believe we’re hunting vampires together.” She makes it up on the spot, but it sounds true enough so she takes it. “Never expected that to happen.”

“What  _ did _ you expect to happen?” Regina stops walking and turns to face Emma. Her face is passive and unreadable, but something about it feels significant. Emma finds herself stepping closer.

“What do you mean?” her voice comes out low and breathy.

Regina licks her lips, and Emma thinks she’s hallucinating when the vampire’s eyes seem to linger on Emma’s. “You didn’t expect us to be patrolling together… but did you expect something else?”

“I…” She inches a little closer, unable to tear her eyes away from the brunette’s mouth. Emma is sure she could run a stake through a vampire more easily than the air between them, it’s so heavy.

“Or, maybe I should ask instead,  _ do _ you expect something else?” And they’re so close, Emma could easily remove the distance between them with the slightest of movements forward and bringing their lips together. She licks her lips and considers it. Emma is silently nodding her head in response to Regina’s question, but the vampire’s eyes are closed so she misses it. Emma wants this more than anything and the moment she decides to go for it, there’s a noise somewhere to their right, and Emma jumps back, eyes wild. Regina is looking between Emma and the place where the noise came from, mouth slightly ajar and eyes glazed over.

“Well, well,” comes a male voice from the location of the noise, “Looks like Storybrooke’s most evil vampire has gone soft.” A vampire emerges from the shadows, and Emma has to fight to hold back a snort at how unthreatening the guy looks, dressed like a casual dude in a flannel shirt and jeans. Regina snarls at him nonetheless.

“Excuse me?” Her voice is like venom, like when she and Emma used to fight, but Emma finds herself being affected in a totally different way than before. “Who the fuck are you calling soft?” It only takes seconds before Regina is directly in front of him, hands on his neck. She doesn’t give him a chance to answer before decapitating him with her bare hands and his dust runs through her fingers.

Emma self consciously wipes at her mouth with her sleeve, not sure if she’s actually drooling or not, but not wanting to take the chance. Regina wipes her hands together, cursing again. “Fucker.” She turns back to Emma, looking concerned, like she wants to apologize for scaring or potentially disturbing Emma, but all Emma can think is she’s never been so turned on in her life. She’s torn between running out of the graveyard and away from Regina or tackling the vampire to the ground and doing her. 

Instead of doing either of those things, she just stands there, gaping. Regina snickers and walks back to Emma. She reaches her hand out, eyes on Emma’s mouth. “Are you drooling?”

Emma’s eyes go wide, and she takes a step back, swatting Regina’s hand away with one arm, and wiping at her mouth again with the other. “Fuck.” And she knows she’s blushing furiously.

Regina chuckles at her, “I was only kidding. You should see the look on your face.” Emma growls at her.

“Don’t make me slay you next.”

“You wouldn’t,” Regina says with a smirk.

“I would. You have no idea what I’m capable of.”

“Is that a promise?” And  _ okay _ , Emma has no idea what  _ that _ means, but it makes her mouth go dry and she has to tear her eyes away from Regina’s and turn away to hide her eyes going wide and her face turning red, even though she knows that it doesn’t make a difference. But she hates that she just wimps out like this, so she turns back around. It’s not like any of it means anything anyways.

When she turns around, Regina is no longer facing her. “Hey,” she moves up behind her, gently resting her hand on the small of the vampire’s back. “Are you okay? Maybe we ought to go home.” She smiles at the words ‘we’ and ‘home’ in the same sentence, and even though Regina tries to hide her face when she turns around, it’s clear enough that she’s smiling too.

“Home,” she repeats, muttering it so softly that Emma almost misses it. If she were like any normal human with normal human hearing, she’s sure she would have. “You don’t think we should keep patrolling? We’ve only killed one vamp.”

“ _ You _ killed one vamp. I watched. And yeah, it’s been a long day. I still have school, remember?” 

Regina chuckles. “Yes, we can’t have you missing that. Everyone knows that school comes before saving the world from the powers of darkness.” Emma shoots her a glare. “I’m kidding, Emma! If you’re going to actually go to sleep, then we can go. But if you’re just going to play video games with August and Neal, we’ll keep patrolling.” Emma feigns a yawn, and Regina snorts, rolling her eyes. “Unbelievable.” But they go home anyways.

The guys are still playing video games when they get back, but as soon as they’re inside, the games are off. “How’d it go? Did you see Ruby?”

“Did you see Snow?”

“Do you think we should be worried?”

“Wow, lots of questions. It went good. Regina killed a vampire with her bare hands. No, no, and no. Anything else?”

“Actually yeah…” And that’s when Emma notices the air mattress on the ground, set up to be slept on. Neal eyes it too, and Emma raises a brow at him. “August and I were thinking we could all sleep down here together. Like a sleepover. So if Ruby gets back early in the morning, we’ll all be in the same place, as well as closer to the door, in case something’s happened.”

“Uh…” Emma looks from the couch to the other couch to the air mattress to Regina and then back to August and Neal. “I guess? Regina too?”

“Yeah, of course,” August says, clearing his throat, glancing at Regina. “I know we didn’t exactly trust you before, but you’re one of us now.”

“Yeah so, I was thinking you guys should have the couches, since they’re more comfortable,” Neal grins, proud of himself for his considerate chivalry, but it’s wiped from his face when Regina snorts.

“What, and you boys are going to share the tiny air mattress?” Emma snaps her head to Regina, mouth open.  _ Is she being considerate of them or does she want to sleep on the ‘tiny air mattress’ next to me? _ Regina’s eyes meet Emma’s, she wiggles her eyebrows, and suddenly Emma has to leave. 

“Uh, I guess I’m gonna go get ready for bed,” she says, making a mad dash for the stairs. She’s stripped down, pulling a t-shirt over her head when she hears her bedroom door open. “Don’t you knock?” She asks, turning to glare at Regina, not worried about her pantless state. Regina just shrugs, eyes grazing Emma’s legs before she turns to change into her own (technically Emma’s) set of pajamas.

Emma gulps before turning back around to put her pajama shorts on. “I’ll uh, see you downstairs,” she says before she returns downstairs, eyes on the floor, brain actively trying to think about anything other than the way Regina was just looking at her.

She’s surprised when she gets downstairs to find that August and Neal are already passed out, Neal on the loveseat with his knees tucked up so he can fit, August sprawled on the couch. The air mattress is in the middle of the room, and all Emma can think about is window placement and the places where sunlight leaks through. The curtains down here aren’t as thick as the ones in her room and she isn’t interesting in risking Regina’s life for the sake of a sleepover. So she drags the air mattress between the wall and the armchair, away from all the windows before she moves through the room, making sure all the blinds are closed and the curtains pulled tight.

Pleased with her efforts, she lightly claps her hands together and turns to see Regina just standing there watching her, eyes full of something Emma can’t place. “What?”

The vampire just shakes her head before looking down and crossing the room to the air mattress. “Nothing.” And Emma just lets the subject drop. She gives the room another once over before she remembers the transom window above their fake fireplace that doesn’t have curtains. Emma is immediately panicking, worried about what will happen if she doesn’t cover it, upset that something could have happened to Regina during any of these days that she  _ didn’t _ cover it, and frantic about how she’s actually  _ going _ to cover it. 

She grabs some tape from the kitchen and a spare sheet from the linen closet and climbs up on the armchair, taping the sheet up. “This isn’t thick enough…” She realizes as she runs back for a thicker and darker blanket, but as she tapes it in the sheet’s place, it falls to the floor. “It’s too heavy,” Emma groans, growing more frantic. She goes back to the linen closet, looking at the sheets, wondering why they all have to be so light and bright, why all their dark linens have to be thick blankets or towels. She goes back to the kitchen to see if there’s any stronger tape and there isn’t. 

She’s about to go the garage for a hammer and nails or a staple gun, willing to go that far even though Marco won’t like it and it’ll probably wake August and Neal up but who cares about the consequences as long as Regina doesn’t get killed by Emma’s carelessness, before Regina is suddenly behind her, a soft hand on Emma’s shoulder. “Emma.” And Emma turns around, surprised by the way Regina’s eyes make her heart slow down when she’s panicking but speed up when she’s calm, the way Regina’s cold touch leaves a warmth in her heart, and the way Regina’s voice seems to lift Emma up while still keeping her grounded. “It’s fine.”

“How is it fine? In the morning, the sunlight is going to come beaming through that window and kill you, and it’ll be all my fault.” She’s too flustered to even be embarrassed at how flustered she is.

Regina pulls Emma closer to her, running a strand of Emma’s hair through her fingers in a way that makes Emma’s stomach do acrobatics. “It’s fine because the sun rises on the other side of the house. Besides, I know you’ll protect me.” She’s so transfixed on Regina’s eyes as she tries to discern what’s in them that she unmistakably watches as they flicker to Emma’s lips and hover there before looking away. Emma stands frozen as Regina climbs under the blanket sprawled across the air mattress before she finally pulls herself out of it.

“Uh, hell no, Regina. You’re sleeping on the other side,” she says as she forces herself onto the inch of space and wiggling to move Regina closer to the wall. She shoots Emma an incredulous look, and Emma guffaws at how offended she actually looks.

“But I always sleep on the left!”

“Yeah, not tonight. I don’t care where the sun rises, I’m keeping you as far away from that window as possible. If I have to use my body to block you from the sunlight I will.”

“You will?” Regina asks in a hopeful voice. 

And Emma is suddenly struck with everything she felt when she woke up this morning, remembering that when they share a bed, their boundaries and walls always seem to come down. She’s less afraid and worried, of intimacy, or rejection, of Regina, and she’s overcome with a sudden boldness as she lies down on the small space with the vampire as she wraps her arms around her, drapes her leg over Regina’s, tucks her head under Regina’s chin. “I will.”

Regina responds with an almost inaudible sigh as she pulls Emma closer to her, and suddenly the tiny air mattress doesn’t feel so tiny.

 


	9. never be daunted

Emma is the first to wake up, around the time the sun starts to rise. It’s convenient how that works out. She glances over at Regina, who’s lying on her side, curled up in an adorable little ball, and then she glances up at the uncovered window and the way the light is coming through it, noticing that Regina is clearly not in any danger of being incinerated by the sun. But that doesn’t stop Emma from rolling over, wrapping the blanket tightly around her and Regina, becoming her protective big spoon.

She pulls Regina closer to her, one arm draped over her waist, the other looped under her neck, where she finds one of her hands and intertwines their fingers together. She buries her face in Regina’s hair, relishing in the scent and in the fact that her vampire is safe, before drifting back to sleep. 

She wakes up again, not much later, to August and Neal being loud and obnoxious together. They’re laughing at something that Emma thinks probably isn’t even that funny, and she tries her best to tune them out, as she keeps her hold on Regina, still sleeping in the same position. The vampire gives a soft mewl before pulling Emma’s arms tighter around her, holding her hand right back and sending a shiver down Emma’s spine. 

“Are you awake?” Emma whispers.

“Hardly,” Regina says, but makes no motion to move. Emma’s grateful that the least sunny spot in the living room also happens to supply them with a bit of privacy, because she knows August and Neal would never leave her alone about spooning with Regina.

But of course, that happens anyway. August is walking out of the kitchen when his eyes land on them. “Wow, someone’s cozy. If I’d known, I would have set up the air mattress there myself, or suggested you guys miss out on our sleepover in favor of Emma’s bed.”

Emma sits up with a groan, reluctantly letting go of Regina’s hand. “August, look, this is the least sunny spot in the entire living room. I just want Regina to be safe. I was...blocking her from the sun.”

“With your body?”

“And the air mattress placement…”

“ _ And _ your body.” August reiterates, a sly grin spreading across his face. Emma shoots him a look. “Say what you want, but, it doesn’t really look like either of you mind very much.”

Emma shrugs and turns to look at Regina, who is totally pretending to be asleep. She’s tempted to use the hand still resting on Regina’s waist to tickle her, but she doesn’t even want to know what August would say, considering he’s still standing there looking at them. “If you don’t like it, you can go,” She jokes, but there’s more truth there than she wants to admit.

“Oh, you’d like that wouldn’t you,” he laughs. But Emma just blushes. “You know I just like to pick on you. Besides, I know I’ve been… apprehensive about it, but Regina’s growing on me, you know? And I want you to know that I’m okay with it. You deserve to be happy.” 

She already knows the answer, but she blurts the question anyways. “It?”

“Yeah, Regina and you.” Emma stares blankly at him before he adds, “You know, together.”

And if Emma thought she was blushing before, it’s nothing compared to right now. She frantically looks back down at Regina. Maybe she isn’t faking it. Maybe she really is asleep. But she sees the corner of her mouth twitch upward ever so slightly, and it’s all the answer she needs.  _ Great, thanks August _ . “We’re not… It’s not like that.”

“I know you’re not, but I know you--”

Emma interrupts with the first thing she can think of. “August, can you make sure Neal saved some coffee for the rest of us?” He smirks at her. “Please?”

“Alright fine, but you lovebirds better get up before I drink all of the next pot.”

“August!” He holds up his hands in defense, “Make sure all the blinds are closed in the kitchen too, okay?” She can tell he’s about to comment again, so she glares at him until he nods and walks back into the kitchen. She eyes Regina, who’s failing at suppressing a smile, or more likely laughter, and Emma rolls her eyes. August went and made their pleasant morning routine weird, and all Emma can think is how badly she doesn’t want to get rejected by Regina. 

She turns to avoidance, a method proven to be effective, and decides to find out what happens when she tickles Regina. So she does. Regina’s reaction surprises Emma, who was expecting her to either be extremely ticklish in a thrashing around wildly kind of way, or not be ticklish at all and just glare at Emma for her efforts over her shoulder. Instead, she gives the littlest of squeals and rolls over, curling further into a little ball, and Emma thinks it’s the cutest thing she’s ever seen, so she keeps tickling, making Regina roll back over so she can tickle her stomach. 

She’s enjoying Regina’s little giggles so much that she isn’t even considering straddling the vampire until it’s happening and Neal walks in, makes a weird gasp and shuffles back out of the room. Emma stops tickling Regina, and Regina stops wiggling underneath Emma, and the Slayer’s eyes go wide when it dawns on her how intimate their positioning is. Regina’s hands are resting on Emma’s, ceasing their fight once the other’s stopped antagonizing the sensitivity of the vampire’s stomach.

Despite the embarrassment of Regina hearing the conversation between August and his foster sister, Neal walking in on their tickle fight, and the way a certain, rapidly heating, part of Emma’s body is too close to the same part of Regina’s, Emma still feels buzzed from their constant contact throughout the night, and she untangles one of her hands and reaches it up to brush a stranded hair from Regina’s face. Her fingers linger on Regina’s jaw, and she subconsciously lowers herself to Regina, thinking about how she’s going to actually die if she doesn’t find out what it feels like to have her lips on Regina’s.

She watches as Regina’s eyes look to her lips the same way they did yesterday, and maybe Emma is just feeling overly confident, but she really thinks there’s a chance Regina could want this as much as she does. As if unknowingly providing Emma with confirmation, Regina’s tongue swipes over her lips, and they’re so close that Emma stops breathing for a moment. She’s about to go for it, when she hears footsteps and a “hey Emma!” so loud that she literally falls over.

“August, the hell?!”

She looks at him, and the telling guilt spread on his face makes it clear he knows what he just interrupted. “I, uh… I got a text from Ruby. She’s going to meet us at school.”

Emma nods, but she’s mortified. She looks away from August, away from Regina. “I’m going to go upstairs. And get ready. Did you close all the blinds and curtains in the kitchen?” She turns to August as she scrambles off the air mattress, still avoiding his gaze. 

“Yeah…”

“Alright, uh, Regina, it should be safe for you then. If you want coffee.” And she walks off, up the stairs, straight to the shower, where she has the water coming out cold, so cold that she’s shaking under the shower head, but it’s what she needs. She’s changed, back in her room, and is examining how frazzled her curls look when wet when there’s a hesitant knock at the door, and she frowns when she opens it, surprised to see Regina on the other side.

“You knocked.” Emma states.

“Yes, well, I didn’t want to invade,” she says, her tone cautious, “Or make you uncomfortable,” she adds after a beat. She’s holding a cup of coffee, made the way Emma likes it, and she offers it up to the blonde, who surprises herself by taking it and immediately setting it on her dresser before wrapping her arms around the vampire’s neck, pulling her into a hug. 

Regina immediately reciprocates, putting her arms around Emma’s waist and nuzzling her face into the wet hair hanging down Emma’s neck. “You never make me uncomfortable,” Emma murmurs into her ear. She feels Regina shiver and she holds her closer, not daring to think of what it means.

“Your coffee is getting cold,” Regina mumbles incoherently into Emma’s neck, causing the blonde to chuckle.

“What was that?”

Groaning, Regina turns her head, still resting on the Slayer’s shoulder, and reiterates, “Your coffee is getting cold.” And Emma snickers again. “You heard me the first time didn’t you?” And when the only answer that comes is more laughter, Regina buries her face into Emma’s hair one more time before pulling away. “If drinking that coffee in the morning makes you less annoying, I better go make you another cup,” and she winks at Emma before leaving the room.

Emma finishes her coffee upstairs before walking back down to the kitchen, bookbag in tow, where Regina is waiting for her with a second cup of coffee in a travel mug. She smiles at Emma, and it actually blows Emma’s mind that someone without a soul could give a smile so genuine and so beautiful and so pure. “One for the road, dear.” And Emma’s sure her heart is melting.

She ducks her head and takes a step towards Regina before grabbing the cup from her. “Thank you.” For a moment they’re just smiling at each other.

“Hey Emma, meet us in the car, we’re ready whenever you are.”

“Sure,” she replies, and she wants nothing more than to kiss Regina, like she almost had this morning, but the moment doesn’t feel right. So instead she grabs Regina’s free hand with hers, lacing their fingers together. “I’ll bring you dinner, okay?”

“Okay,” she says, giving Emma’s hand a gentle squeeze. 

And before Emma walks out the door, she turns to give Regina another wide smile.

\----- ----- ----- ----- -----

They don’t see Ruby when they get to school. They don’t see her when first period is starting, but it isn’t uncommon since Ruby starts her day with study hall. But when Emma spots her on the way to English, she all but runs to her. “Ruby! Thank god you’re okay.”

“Emma, hey! August told me you and Regina were spooning, but Neal said he thought you were doing more than that. Is there a congratulations in order?” She jokes with a wink. Emma’s face goes red as she shakes her head slowly both as an answer and a warning. “Okay, well I still think you need to talk to her.”

“Speaking of talking…” Emma starts, hoping to change the subject.

“Right. I have to tell you guys about last night. We should all meet in the library during lunch. Unless you can get out of fifth? Don’t you have study hall? Since electives are done for the year, and we all had our electives fifth, we can meet then.”

“Electives are done?”

“Yeah, cause you know, exams are next week, and electives always end first. Do you not have an elective? You do have study hall fifth, right?”

Emma groans, “No, I  _ don’t _ have an elective because I’m the librarian assistant. I got that instead, because Slayers don’t get breaks, remember? And yeah, I can meet you guys fifth period. David can probably write me out of study hall.”

“Okay cool. See you then, I gotta get to class.”

And she’s sitting in English, working on a group project for the period with Neal (only they’re not doing actual work), filling him in on meeting in the library during fifth period when her phone buzzes in her pocket. She raises an eyebrow before glancing around the room and pulling out her phone under her desk. She has a few notifications, but she checks the one that made her phone go off first, the most recent and also the most curious.  _ New Message Request _ . She clicks on the notification’s icon and does a double take as she reads the words  _ message request from Regina Mills _ , along with the options to accept or deny.

She accepts so fast she almost drops her phone.

 

 **Regina:** _Hello, Emma_

 **Emma:** _regina what the hell? you made a facebook??_

 **Regina:** _Yes, and you haven’t accepted my friend request._

 

Emma blinks before returning to the remaining notifications on her phone. Sure enough, she has one from Facebook, and when the app finally opens, she’s greeted with a friend request from Regina. So she accepts and ventures to the vampire’s profile, finding it very interesting that her profile picture was taken from Emma’s bedroom while she’s wearing Emma’s clothes.

 

**Emma:** _ regina did you take a selfie on my laptop?? _

**Regina:** _Do you like it?_

 **Emma:** _you’re wearing my clothes_

 **Regina:** _You never minded before_

 **Emma:** _i don’t mind now_

 **Emma:** _so why did you make a facebook again??_

 **Regina:** _How else was I going to talk to you?_

 

Suddenly Neal clears his throat. Emma jumps and looks up at him before glancing around the room. She’d legitimately forgotten she was in class supposed to be working on a group project. “Are you talking to Regina?” He asks her with a smirk.

“How do you know that?”

“You’ve been smiling the whole time.”

“Neal, I smile all the time.”

Neal snorts, “Okay, first, no you don’t. And second, when you do, it isn’t like that. That’s your special Regina smile.”

“My what?” Emma exclaims, eyes wide. The room gets a little quieter at her outburst and she shrinks into her seat. “Sorry,” she mutters in the direction of her teacher.

“You have this smile that you only make when you’re talking to Regina, talking about Regina, thinking about Regina, or just being around her. It’s really cute actually.”

Emma shakes her head. “And this is something everybody notices?”

“Maybe not everybody, but me and August and Ruby have noticed it. We actually talk about it. David commented on it before too.”

“David?! Not Regina though, right?” Neal just shrugs, and Emma groans before turning back to her phone. “Unbelievable.”

 

 **Regina:** _You have class though, so maybe this wasn’t the best idea._

**Regina:** _ Just message me when you have the time _

**Emma:** _hey, sorry, neal was being stupid_

 **Emma:** _we’re in english doing a group project_

 **Emma:** _but i’d rather be talking to you_

 **Regina:** _Making good decisions, I see ;)_

**Regina:** _ What was Neal doing this time? _

**Emma:** _making fun of my smile_

 **Regina:** _I like your smile_

 **Emma:** _lol I don’t even smile that much_

 **Regina:** _You’re always smiling when I see you_

 

Emma is undeniably blushing, and she glances up at Neal who is wiggling his eyebrows at her. She rolls her eyes back at him. “I’m not smiling right now. We really need to get this project done.”

“What do you think I’ve been doing?”

“Oh, you’re actually working on it?”

“Yeah, it’s almost done.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Neal just shrugs, “I like this class. Besides, you’ve got more important things to do.” He gestures at her phone with a nod and a chuckle. “Speaking of which, were you guys making out this morning? Sorry for interrupting.”

“ _ You _ didn’t interrupt,” Emma blurts. Before Neal can say anything, Emma continues. “And no, we’ve never kissed. I’m not sure she would be comfortable with that.”

“Maybe you should ask her. Or just do it. She makes the same faces at you that you make at her. You know, you have your Regina smile, and she has her Emma smile, and honestly I think that says more than your smile does, because she doesn’t have a soul.”

“Exactly! She doesn’t have a soul. She couldn’t possibly have feelings for me, so there’s no point in talking to her about any of it. I would only embarrass myself.”

Neal lets out a soft scoff through an equally soft smile, “Emma. Remember what we learned about souls? Vampires can earn them with true love. I’m not saying you and Regina are in love or anything so don’t give me that look, but what I am saying is that she’s definitely capable of feelings, and you can’t know what they are unless you talk about it. Don’t you ever feel anything with her? You’ve got to, because I know I’m not imagining the way you are together.”

She hesitates. Something she hasn’t thought about too recently occurs to her, but she’s not sure about telling Neal until the words are already leaving her mouth. “Don’t tell Ruby or August about this okay?” He nods with a reassuring smile.

“You can trust me.”

“I noticed it back when Regina first stayed over. Whenever we touch, there’s this… I don’t know, it sounds corny. But it’s like some kind of static, electricity. It’s not like having butterflies, but something really deep. Like lightning in my bloodstream. I know that doesn’t make sense, but I don’t know how else to explain it. I don’t know if she feels it too, but I think she does. And I don’t know what it means.”

Neal takes a deep breath. “Wow, Emma.”

“I know. What do you think it is? It feels important, but I don’t know how it could be.”

“Maybe you’ll find out.”

“How?”

He shrugs, “I don’t know, but if it means something, I think it’ll show itself, you know? I know you don’t want to talk to her about it, but maybe you could test it out. Look for her reaction when you feel it, or see if it’s stronger at some times than others, or if it’s when you touch her first or if she touches you first or both. If you want, I can do secret research for you. I don’t know what could be out there on this, but I can check it out.”

“That seems like a good idea. Thanks, Neal.” She opens her mouth again, thinking to ask if it could have something to do with Regina and the soul issue, but the bell interrupts her, and she’s mostly glad that it did.

The next two periods drag by. There’s a substitute in algebra, so Emma spends her time between thinking about the electricity and the soul stuff, doing the occasional Google search from her phone, and messaging Regina.

 

 **Emma:** _ugh regina class is so boring. you’re lucky you don’t have to deal with this_

 **Regina:** _Do you think being trapped inside your bedroom alone is any more entertaining?_

 **Emma:** _significantly_

 **Emma:** _besides, if i were trapped in my bedroom, i wouldn’t be alone_

 **Emma:** _you’d be with me_

 **Regina:** _That would certainly be more entertaining, wouldn’t it?_

 **Emma:** _it would depend_

 **Regina:** _On what?_

 **Emma:** _what we’d be doing_

 **Regina:** _Oh, I’m sure we could think of something_

 **Emma:** _i already am_

 

The minute she sends the message, she wants to sink into the floor or evaporate into thin air. It’s not that it’s untrue though. The idea of her and Regina trapped in her bedroom is sending her brain into overdrive, and she admitted more than she probably should have, but then again, Regina isn’t close enough to pick up on Emma’s blood flow, so she isn’t as worried about it as she could be. For all Regina knows, she’s imagining them sprawled on the floor playing a game of Monopoly.

Either way, she’s equally mortified and terrified to receive Regina’s response, so she puts her phone away and attempts to clear her head. She makes it almost the whole period before picking up her phone again and almost dropping it when she sees Regina’s response.  _ What’s she trying to do to me? _

 

**Regina:** _ Do tell ;) _

**Emma:** _ wouldn’t you like to know ;) _

**Emma:** _gotta go, time for biology_

 

The bell rings as she sends the last message, and she stuffs her phone back in her pocket. Biology is even more boring than her other classes because they have an in-class lab project due by the end of the period, which means no checking her phone. But Ruby’s her lab partner so it really could be worse.

She’s glad the project takes so much effort because it distracts her from whatever is happening with Regina, but also keeps her from pestering Ruby about last night, because she’s ready to plan and find Snow, and she feels like they’ve gotten nowhere with the whole thing, and it’s really starting to bother her.

It’s not that she really had that much time with Snow, or really any at all, not in a normal way, after finding out that she was her mother, but the more she thinks about it, the more she craves it. And then the more she thinks about that, the more she wants to find her father too. For selfish reasons of course, but also because she hopes it could save Snow. But Regina’s list of soul-restoring ideas hasn’t been narrowed at all, and they’re still not even sure where Snow is.

She’s so lost in thought that when Ruby gets up to hand in their project, Emma jumps. “Ruby, where are you going?”

“Oh, I finished the project.” Emma gapes at her. “It’s fine, you were distracted, and I know you hate biology.”

“Okay, one, I don’t hate biology, and second, I can’t believe this is happening twice in one day.” When Ruby returns to her seat, she gives Emma a look.

“It’s fine, you’re dealing with a lot. Luckily, you’re pretty much done with school for the day, since the only real class you have left is gym, which hardly counts. I think all of us talking is going to help you out a lot. You can get some stuff off your mind.” She puts a reassuring hand on Emma’s shoulder. “We’ll get this figured out.”

As soon as she gives her study hall supervisor David’s note excusing her from the period, she checks her phone as she walks down the empty hallway to the library, and she almost passes out when she reads Regina’s message from almost an hour ago.

 

 **Regina:** _Guess I’ll just have to entertain myself then ;)_

 

The message has a visceral effect on her, and there couldn’t possibly be a more inappropriate time for her to be feeling the way she’s feeling, so she puts her phone away and walks into the library, where everyone is waiting for her. August snickers at the blush on her face. “Shut up,” she says as she makes her way to a seat at the table. 

David is wandering around the room doing librarian things, and Emma is wondering how they’re going to get him to leave so they can talk until Ruby suddenly and loudly exclaims, “Emma, I can’t believe you and Regina made out!” And Emma’s not sure who’s eyes get wider, hers or David’s. They both make really odd noises, Emma’s being a sputtering of protests and David’s being that of discomfort as he looks away.

“I’ll be in my office,” he mumbles before shuffling in and closing the door.

“Ruby! What the fuck was that? I told you nothing happened!”

“Sorry, Emma, but I didn’t know how else to make him do  _ that _ ,” she says, gesturing at David’s now closed door.

Emma groans, “Yeah, but it’s a lie and you’ve made David uncomfortable. He doesn’t need to hear stuff like that; it’s so weird. He’s like...I don’t know, he’s like my dad or something, you know?”

“I guess, but it worked. And he’ll probably never bring it up again, so you don’t have to worry about Regina hearing anything about it. We’re all on the same page, except for David who’s too scarred for life to need correcting.”

“Oh, but don’t forget, we’re not all on the same page,” August smirks. “Emma and Regina need to get on the same page too.”

“Okay guys, seriously. We have more important things to talk about besides me and Regina.” She looks pointedly at Ruby.

“Okay, yeah, you’re right. Okay so last night was really uneventful. I didn’t find Snow at all. There were a few times I thought I picked up on her trail, but they all led to dead ends. I think she’s trying to hide. Maybe she doesn’t even have a base location. Honestly I think what’s happening is that she’s moving around to throw us off. It makes me think she’s really planning something big.”

“Fuck!” Emma groans, sliding down in her seat. “We’re not getting anywhere you guys. All this research is useless, and we can’t find my mom and we don’t have any idea how to help her earn her soul back.” 

Her three friends look at her, slightly shocked to hear her refer to Snow so intimately as her mother, but if anything, it stirs them up more. August takes her hand. “Don’t worry Em, we’ll figure it out.”

“Hey, if you want to you can video call Regina since she’s on Facebook now. She can plan with us.” Neal casually suggests. Ruby and August react immediately by pulling out their phones. Ruby squeals.

“Regina has a Facebook?” August laughs. “Oh my god, Emma, she took this picture in your room with your clothes on!” Emma sighs deeply and throws her head on the desk, giving her friends a moment to giggle and make a big deal out of the situation. “Are we gonna video call her?”

“No. She’s… busy,” Emma mumbles. “Anyway, I want to talk more about how we can save Snow. As for tonight, we can just do the same as last night, if that’s fine, I don’t think that’s a big deal as long as no one gets hurt. But we need some kind of plan for saving Snow, or what to do if we find her. If she really is planning something, I want to get to her before she can get to us.” The rest nod at her thoughtfully, so she continues, “There are a lot of possibilities for her having her soul restored, and some are more possible than others. I know that technically, I was the reason she lost it to begin with, but maybe I’m also the way she can get it back. It’s worth a try, and it’s also the easiest option.”

“What were some of the other ideas again?”

Emma rummages through her bookbag, looking for the list Regina gave her. She reads it to them verbatim. “ _ One: finding Snow’s true love, Emma’s father, and reuniting them. Two: trying to bring back Snow’s motherly true love for Emma. Three: using the fatherly true love between Emma and her father by reuniting them somehow and exposing Snow to their family love. Four: finding a new true love for Snow if we can’t find Emma’s father. Five: finding a true love for Emma and showing Snow the true happiness of her daughter. Six: exposing Snow to true love in general to remind her that she has it (or has had it) too. _ And that’s it.”

“Which one do you think is the best?” 

“I think the most effective option is finding my dad, her true love. But I don’t know where we would even start to look. I don’t even know his name. Regina might know it, so I could ask her, but she didn’t mention it when she told me the story, so I don’t know. Regina doesn’t seem to think that’s the best idea.”

“What does she think the best idea is?”

Emma hesitates, thinking back to their conversation about it. She didn’t seem to feel incredibly passionate about any of them, but she did seem to think that somehow Emma was the key. “She thinks there’s a good chance that five might work, but she hasn’t really elaborated on it much. It’s just the only one we really discussed.”

Ruby snatches the list from her, “Woah, woah, wait. You’re telling me you guys talked about you falling in love with someone?”

“I mean… Not really? It was… It was before we got close. Uh, it wasn’t really much of a conversation. It was really vague, and really confusing, and I changed the subject. For all I know, she wasn’t really considering it.”

“Maybe you could ask her?”

Emma’s eyebrows shoot up, “Hell no, I am not bringing that up with her right now. You can do it.”

“Fine,” August sighs, “I will. She accepted my friend request so I can ask her right now.” He takes a picture of the list and types into his phone for a minute before setting it back on the desk. “We’ll find out soon enough.” But when everyone’s phones but August’s go off, Emma gets suspicious.

Neal laughs as he turns his on, “August, you made a group chat?”

Emma rolls her eyes, “Seriously?”

 

_ *August Booth created the group chat* _

**August:** _*picture message*_

 **August:** _Hey, Regina, we’re all in the library talking about saving Snow and which of your ideas we think is best, if you had to arrange them by effectiveness, what order would you put them in, the most effective possibility being first._

 

Emma sits with her arms crossed while she glares at her phone. “You know,” August starts, “Maybe we should all make that list, just to see.” Ruby nods like it’s a good idea, and immediately opens the picture on her phone. Neal does the same, and eventually Emma picks up the list, not willing herself to look at her phone, but begrudgingly willing herself to participate.

 

**August:** _ 5, 1, 6, 2, 3, 4 _

**Neal:** 6 2 5 1 3 4

**Ruby:** _5..6..1..2..3..4_

**Regina** :  _ 6, 5, 1, 3, 4, 2 _

**Emma:** _1 6 2 3 5 4_

 **Emma:** _for fuck’s sake_

 

“Well, well, would you look at that. I wonder who she thinks your true love should be.” Ruby snickers.

Emma groans, yet again. “You know, she didn’t really like any of the plans that much. She really might just hate them all and not know what would be best, but she still had to order them somehow. Maybe she just likes some more than others.”

“Mhmm I wonder why.” August says, winking at Emma.

“I’m serious, she didn’t like a lot of them when she gave me the list. Why do you think that number six is number six and not number one!”

 

 **Regina:** _While I do think most of them are unlikely, some of them just make more sense. Finding Emma’s father, for one, is risky, because it could trigger Snow even further, and we also have to consider Emma’s emotions in finding her father. That’s why I’ve placed one and three in the middle. They’re very iffy._

**Regina:** _ Four is too complicated, and ultimately useless while Snow already has a true love. _

**Regina:** _Two is also complicated, as her motherly love for Emma took her soul away to begin with._

 **Regina:** _However, it is the easiest to test, so it shouldn’t be ruled out. Maybe I ought to switch those two._

 **August:** _What about five and six?_

 **Regina:** _Six is the best because it’s the most general, but that also makes planning it harder._

 **Regina:** _Five is a good plan because it indirectly involves motherly love. Snow seeing her daughter experiencing something so pure could remind her what it feels like. There isn’t a way this plan could backfire and make anything worse_

**Emma:** _ um, yes there is?? _

**Neal:** _ lol _

**Ruby:** _yeah but who would emma’s true love be?_

 

Emma just sits, face buried in her hands, waiting for the earth to swallow her whole and call on someone new to be the Slayer. Her friends are quiet, anxiously awaiting Regina’s response, the only one they care about at this moment in time. “What do you think she’s going to say?” Ruby asks.

“Hey, it says she’s typing,” August points out, and Emma peeks nervously at her phone through her fingers, lying open on the desk.

 

 **Regina:** _Shouldn’t you be asking Emma that?_

 **Ruby:** _yeeeahh but u know how she is_

**August:** _ She’s refusing to comment on it _

**Emma:** _ i never said that!! _

**Ruby:** _ PERFECT then talk to us _

**Emma:** _ this is so stupid, we’re literally all in the same room _

**Emma:** _ except regina _

**Emma:** _ but literally only one of us needs to be messaging her  _

**Ruby:** _ hmm sounds like somebody’s jealous _

_ *Emma Swan left the group chat* _

 

Ruby scoffs. “Emma, c’mon, you’re no fun.”

“Well I’m sorry if I don’t want to watch you make a fool out of me in front of Regina when you could just do it here without her around. Besides, maybe she’ll actually help you if I’m not there to analyze everything she’s saying.”

Neal shrugs, “I don’t think that’s the case, Emma, she just asked us if you were okay.” And sure enough, Emma’s phone goes off with a message from Regina.

 

**Regina:** _ Are you okay? _

**Regina:** _ I’m sorry if I upset you, or started anything by what I said. _

**Regina:** _ Or rather, what I didn’t say. _

**Regina:** _ I’m sorry if it’s my fault your friends are giving you a hard time. _

**Emma:** _ you have nothing to be sorry for. i’m not upset with you _

**Emma:** _ it’s just… i don’t know. nevermind  _

**Regina:** _ You know you can talk to me _

**Emma:** _ i know. but not now, not here _

**Emma:** _ maybe not ever _ _ i’ll see you at home _

 

“You guys suck.” Emma glares at her friends, all still on their phones. “Is she still talking to you guys?” August nods.

Neal puts his phone down and turns to Emma. “So it looks like number six is the most popular idea, so maybe we can think about it in terms of all our options you know? We should probably try to track down your father, and also see if we can remind Snow how much she’s capable of love for you, as well as in general.”

“Yeah if we can find her, speaking of, Ruby, you can look again tonight right?”

“Yeah of course. Good idea, by the way Neal. I just filled Regina in.”

“Has she said anything else?” Emma asks cautiously.

August chuckles, “Actually yeah, she suggested that we all pick a plan and focus on how it could work. She said ‘I can work on number four since I know Snow’s type better. And since I’ll already be playing matchmaker, I’ll focus on number five as well.’ How convenient,” August adds.

Emma rolls her eyes, trying to ignore the way her heart is suddenly racing. “Whatever. I’ll focus on numbers one and three, which is basically tracking down my father. Neal can help me. You guys can do the other two. How’s that sound?” The three of them nod, and Emma gives them a tight smile. “Great. Let’s go to lunch; I need some fresh air.”

The rest of the day drags by, and Emma doesn’t look at her phone again for the rest of it, nor does she mention Regina to any of her friends. She helps David organize some paperwork during her library period but stays as quiet as possible.

“Hey, I don’t want to intrude, but are you okay? I know you might not want to talk to me, because I’m just some lame old librarian, but I want you to know that I am here for you, if you ever need it.”

Emma smiles at David before looking back at the stack in front of her. “You’re not old.”

“Old enough to be your father,” he points out. And the shift in Emma’s demeanor must have switched drastically because suddenly he’s even more concerned. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… Did I say something wrong?”

She worries her bottom lip, eyes unmoving from her hands as she wrings them in front of her. She doesn’t really want to get into it, but she can’t help it. Something about opening up to David feels necessary. “You didn’t, no. It’s just that… I’ve never met my father. I assume he’s out there somewhere, but I don’t know where. I’ve been thinking about him a lot lately,” she admits.

“And you want to meet him?”

“Yeah, of course! I actually met my mother for the first time really recently, and… well something happened. I lost her, again. And I wonder if I can save her by finding my dad.” She realizes she’s said too much, but David doesn’t seem put off by any of it, so she keeps going. “Apart from all that though, I just really want to meet him. I don’t think it’s too late for him to be a part of my life. Some of my friends think it would be too hard on me. Finding my father.”

“Do you think it would be?”

Emma shrugs, “Not any harder than anything else I have to deal with.”

David chuckles lightly. “Well, you never know. Maybe he’ll turn up. Find you first,” he says, glancing over at her with a smile that Emma can’t help but reciprocate.

“I don’t know about that,” she says, her face falling. “But I hope so. I hope he’s looking. I have a good feeling. For a long time, I thought I was just abandoned, but lately I’ve had some kind of intrinsic feeling of hope. Maybe it’s from meeting my mom.”

“She does have that kind of effect.”

“What?”

“Uh, moms I mean. Moms have that kind of effect. Hope.”

Emma’s forehead is still creased in confusion. “Oh” is all she says. 

They sit in an awkward silence for a short while until the bell rings, and Emma wastes no time in getting up, uncomfortably aware of the weird change in the air between her and David, but she doesn’t know why or what it is, and she doesn’t have the energy to stay and figure it out. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She’s almost to the door when David stops her, “Hey Emma?”

“Yeah?” she asks, shifting on her feet.

“Just remember that if you ever need anything, you know where to find me.”

* * *

 

When school finally ends, they’re all leaving together until Emma starts to split away from the group. “Uh, I’ll meet you guys at home.” She waves feebly as she tries to walk off unnoticed.

“Uh, Emma?” August calls after her, sounding concerned.

She spins around on the spot, “What?”

“Where are you going?”

“I just need to run an errand, that’s all.” She moves to walk away again, but August gently grabs her arm. She looks at him, sighing impatiently. “What? It’s not like I’m going to get attacked. The sun’s still out.”

“Humor me?” Emma rolls her eyes. “Besides, we’re all going to the same place. It only makes sense. We’ll get home faster if you just let me drive you. Please?”

“If I start walking will you just follow me in your car and yell at me until I get in?” 

August nods with a grin. “You know me so well.”

“Fine, but I get shotgun.” August makes a big deal of it by walking around the car to open the door for her with a bow. 

He climbs into the driver’s seat and turns to Emma, “Where to?”

“Uh,” and Emma realizes how much they’re going to make fun of her, but there’s just no way around it. She decides to prolong the inevitable and just gives August vague directions instead of outright telling him their destination. No one catches on until they’re in front of The Chop Shop, and Emma’s climbing out of the car. “Be right back.”

Just before she slams the car door shut behind her she hears the start of a “no way!” from Ruby. She shakes her head as she walks into the building, refusing to glance back. They’re going to give her hell for this.

And they do.

She climbs back into the car with the usual paper bag, and is both shocked and on edge at how quiet her friends are, until she looks up and they’re all gaping at her. “What?”

“Did you go in there to buy blood?” Neal asks.

And Emma feel like she doesn’t need to answer, nor does she want to, but she says it anyway. “Yeah, so what?”

August chuckles, careful not to sound like he’s laughing down at her. “You guys are so domestic,” he jokes. “It’s really cute that you’re getting her dinner.” Emma gapes at him sputtering, but failing to retort in any way, partially because she hasn’t come up with anything clever, but mostly because it’s true. “And really you guys do the lesbian couple thing pretty well cause you’ve already moved in together.”

“Really, August?” Ruby scoffs.

“I know, it wasn’t the best joke.”

“No, it’s a terrible joke. But it is totally true,” Ruby adds, shooting a wink at Emma, who’s blushing and glaring at them all. 

“You guys suck. We aren’t even dating.”

“But you do like her, and you guys sleep in the same bed.”

“You spoon!”

“Yeah, you spoon! Are we wrong to say you’re in that weird stage where you both like each other and you’re just too scared to say anything about it?” Neal is silently watching the exchange between Ruby and August to Emma, who’s on the verge of losing it.

And she does. “Guys, please cut it out! I know this seems like a big joke to you, but I want it to not be a joke anymore. Maybe it was funny once. The Slayer with a crush on a vampire, but I’m really legitimately falling for her. I can’t stand it. I’ve never felt like this about anyone, and honestly all these jokes are driving me crazy because I just want them to be real, but they never will be. So thanks for reminding me all day long of possibilities that will never happen. It’s ridiculous to think that she would want to date me, okay? And even if she feels similar, it’s not going to happen. We’re from two different worlds. I’m the product of true love, and she’s the product of true evil.” Emma takes a deep breath. “If there’s ever been a sign that two people couldn’t be more wrong for each other, this is it.” No one says anything, so Emma adds, “Just let me enjoy my emotional masochism in peace.”

The rest of the car ride home is made in silence.

When they get back home, August reaches for Emma’s arm, holding her back while everyone else walks into the living room. “Hey, Emma, I’m sorry about earlier. I mean, I knew you had feelings, but I didn’t know… I didn’t think…” he sighs, “I’ll stop.”

“Thanks,” Emma says as she walks to the cabinet for a mug.

“For what it’s worth though, I think you should give it a shot. I know you don’t want to, but I think you ought to reconsider what you said in the car. Maybe your differences are what make you perfect for each other.” And he shrugs and walks out of the kitchen, leaving Emma alone with her thoughts and a mug full of blood.

Regina isn’t downstairs, so Emma makes her way up to her room, smiling when she opens the door to see Regina lounging on the bed waiting for her, laptop closed on her lap. “Hey, how was school?” She asks as Emma shuts the door behind her, smiling a smile so soft Emma would use it as a pillow.

“School was… school. I mean you heard about some of it already,” she says, eyeing the laptop with a nervous chuckle.

“Oh yeah, I hope you don’t mind, but I got bored. It wasn’t password protected so I figured it would be okay.”

“Yeah, I uh… I took the password off after you started staying here. Just in case.” She smiles at Regina, sitting on the bed next to her and passing her the mug. “Dinner, as promised.” Regina beams, taking the mug with a quiet ‘thank you’ and taking a sip. Emma just watches her for a moment before blurting out, “Does that really satisfy you?”

Regina swallows the sip she was just taking. “Pardon?”

“Uh, I mean the animal blood. I know you said it’s not as filling as human blood, but I didn’t know if anything had changed since I started bringing you the blood from the butchers. I just… I want to make sure you’re getting the best.”

“Oh. Yes, this is excellent. Human blood is the most satisfying, but there’s more of a price to pay for it.”

“It’s not about the money, so I don’t want you to worry about that. You don’t have to pay me back.” The vampire’s forehead wrinkles in confusion. “Oh,” Emma mutters as it dawns on her, “You weren’t talking about that kind of price. Well still, you don’t owe me anything.” 

Regina smiles and they fall back into silence, and Emma starts thinking more about what Bo said when she picked up the blood yesterday. Really, Emma isn’t sure how to bring it up without it being weird, because honestly the whole thing  _ is _ weird, but eventually the silence and her curiosity force her to ask, “What if you had a person you fed off of but never sired or killed?” 

And the look Regina gives her is entirely unreadable, but the blush spreading across her face isn’t. The silence is deafening, and Emma can’t stand it, so she tries to fix it with a joke. “I guess it would be like, a friends with benefits situation?” 

But Regina’s cheeks only grow redder and Emma’s follow suit when she realizes what it sounds like she’s implying. “Uh… I wasn’t… I mean, I--” Emma sighs in frustration. “Not that I wouldn’t… I mean, you’re really...Fuck.” Emma concludes throwing herself face first across the bed. 

All she can think about is sinking into the mattress in the silence that follows, and she makes sure to bury her face into the comforter so she doesn’t continue to make the conversation weirder even though she really wants to continue having it. The silence lasts a second too long and she turns her head to Regina, and starts to speak at the same time as the vampire does. “Sorry, you go ahead.”

But to Emma’s utter horror, Regina insists. “No, you were talking first. You go ahead.” 

And Emma is left with no choice but to make it weirder, but she hopes it won’t be that bad. “Is it true that Slayer’s have special blood?” When Regina almost chokes on her sip of blood, Emma vows to never speak again, and she opts to reposition herself on the bed so she can plant her face into the pillow. A much more comfortable way to will herself into nonexistence. She chances a glance at Regina though, feeling risky, clearly. “What were you going to say?”

Regina looks speechless, and Emma’s grateful for how embarrassed she is, because she’s sure it’s the only thing preventing her from reacting to how adorable she looks in whatever inappropriate way her vocal cords found fit. “Were you actually asking, or…” and she trails off, at a loss for where to go.

“Uh… I don’t know.”

Regina nods, contemplating for a moment. “I suppose...I could do that. But it requires a lot of trust. Someone would have to trust me enough to… well, you know.” Emma sits up, facing Regina, unsure if she wants to keep pushing this conversation or not. Regina finishes dinner, and sets the mug on the table next to her and glances hesitantly at Emma. “No one’s ever trusted me that much, and I doubt anyone ever would.”

_ I have, and I do _ . Emma wants to say, but she thinks better of it, for once. If she were to say that, it would definitely look like she wants to be Regina’s friends with benefits meal, and while the idea doesn’t sound totally unappealing to Emma (in fact, it sounds a little too appealing, among other things, arousing for instance), she doesn’t want to make Regina feel uncomfortable. “That’s not true.”

Regina looks at her, eyes so full, and Emma realizes that she’s basically said a more vague version of her thoughts. She panics for a moment, recognizing that Regina’s eyes flicker from her eyes to her lips to her neck and then down to her own lap. She reaches for Regina’s hand and takes it into both her own, scooting as close as she can without actually climbing into her lap. “Hey,” she says, stroking her thumb over the back of the vampire’s hand and forgetting the awkward context this conversation was born in. “ _ I _ trust you. With all that I have, and I think that’s saying something, because I’m the Slayer, you know?”

And Regina half scoffs, half snorts before glancing at Emma for a second and then looking back at her hand in Emma’s. “The blood of a Slayer is an aphrodisiac. To answer your other question.” She peeks up at Emma, and in that half a second, with Regina’s dark eyes on her thinking about how simply the consumption of Emma’s blood could turn her on, Emma shivers.

Her reaction is so poignant that she finds herself unable to break her gaze from Regina’s. “An aphrodisiac… you mean like--”

“Yes,” Regina interrupts, moving to place her free hand on Emma’s thigh, causing Emma to involuntarily shiver again. 

“Regina,” Emma breathes, moving towards her, almost like a magnet.

“Yes?” And Emma is absolutely sure that she’s going to lose her mind, but she knows she can’t go for it. If she does, she’s just setting herself up for rejection, so instead of pressing her lips against Regina’s and tangling her hand into her hair with one hand, pulling her closer by her waist with the other, she rests her forehead against the vampire’s and closes her eyes, trying to control her breathing so she doesn’t sound totally breathless, though it hardly matters. If Regina can hear her blood flow, she must know that she’s aroused like there’s no tomorrow.

She lifts her eyes to Regina’s, whose are almost black, and brings her hand to Regina’s hair, weaving her hand through it until she’s cupping the base of the vampire’s skull. Regina’s hand twitches on her thigh, moving abruptly higher, and it takes all that Emma has to pull herself away and climb off the bed. “I, uh… We should probably go downstairs.”

“Right,” Regina says, eyes sealed shut. And Emma feels bad. 

“Regina?” But she doesn’t respond, so Emma walks around to stand next to her and takes a hold of her hand again. “I don’t want to upset you, or… mess up.”

“What could you possibly mess up?”

Emma ignores her question with a shake of her head. “Do you…” but she trails off, suddenly realizing she’s not ready for the answer, afraid that the vampire doesn’t feel the same electricity. 

“Do I, what?” She remembers Neal’s advice, and instead of finishing her question, she lifts Regina’s hand to her mouth, brushing her lips against it ever so slightly, and the sensation that runs through her body almost floors her, but she stands still, eyes on Regina, who reacts the way Emma had to stop herself from reacting. Maybe she does feel it too.

“Nothing, Let’s go downstairs.” Emma turns to the door, Regina behind her, but Emma stops her at the door, turning so suddenly that they find themselves inches away again, her hand automatically on the vampire’s waist. Her eyes move to Regina’s lips. “Sunlight.”

Regina hums like she didn’t really hear what Emma said, evidently more interested in the way her mouth looks than the words coming out of it.

“Let me go first, in case of sunlight. Count to thirty and then follow me,” she says as she slips from the room, making the hallway safe and trying to shake herself free of any and all conflicting feelings, not sure what to think anymore.

They don’t have long until sundown, so they go over everything with Ruby before she sets out. The plan is the same as last night, except instead of tracking the location of Snow’s safehouse (if she has one), she’ll be tracking Snow herself and attempting to spy on her, to see if she’s up to something. Emma decides that it would be for the best if she and Regina didn’t go patrolling, so as not to throw Ruby off her trail, or mess with anything Snow could be up to. They can’t afford an interference that could cost them information.

So while Ruby goes off into the sunset to prepare for her change, the others, excluding Regina, are left to the task of homework. Neal and August sprawl out on their respective couches, and Emma can already tell that they’re going to end up loudly playing video games, so she opts to sit in the kitchen at the island counter, free from distraction. 

Regina has other ideas. She sits next to Emma, and it  _ looks _ like she scoots her stool a little closer to Emma’s, but she can’t be sure. The vampire has a book with her, lying open on the counter, but Emma is pretty sure she isn’t reading it. Every now and then she turns a page, but it seems more like just a motion, and even less frequently, she’ll let out a sigh or shift in her seat, and eventually Emma sighs back. “Are you bored?”

“Yep.” Regina doesn’t even try for an attempt at subtlety. 

“If you want, you can get my laptop and watch a movie,” Emma suggests before adding, “With headphones of course.” Regina shrugs and turns back to her book. “Or not.”

Not even ten minutes later, Regina asks, “What kind of movie?”

Emma snorts, “I don’t know, Dracula?” The vampire gives her a look. “Sorry but I don’t know. There’s lots of options. You can browse by category on Netflix.”

“That doesn’t sound very useful. The movie thing. But the category selection idea is brilliant.” Emma rolls her eyes before returning back to her homework and trying to tune out the brunette entirely.

“Maybe I could help you with your homework?” Regina tries, turning to Emma.

“It’s okay, it’s really boring. I don’t really have much left. I just have to, uh…” she glances at her planner, “All I have left is reading.  _ The Sun Also Rises _ for English.”

“Maybe you could read it to me?” 

And Emma’s heart flutters at the smile on Regina’s face. She’s facing Emma, leaning into the counter, head resting in her hand. Their knees brush together as Emma swivels her stool toward the vampire and mirrors her position. “Sure, if you really want to hear me read some 20th century American lit that bad.”

Regina shrugs, “Maybe it’s not about the book.”

“Then what’s it about?” The vampire just gives Emma a coy smile instead of an answer, and Emma grins back before ducking her head and opening the book to where she last read. “Do you need me to summarize everything that’s already happened, or…”

“No, I’ve already read it.”

“Oh.”

“Actually, Hemingway and I were friends growing up.”

“Really?!”

“No,” Regina laughs, “I’m not  _ that _ old.”

“Oh.” Emma pauses for a beat, hesitant to ask. “How old  _ are _ you?”

Regina looks away, her face passive. She contemplates for a moment before simply answering, “I’m twenty-three.”

“And how long have you been twenty-three?” Emma says in a sultry voice.

The vampire groans. “Emma, no. Do not reference that book. Do not reference that movie. Do not bring it up ever. Or else, our friendship will be terminated.”

Emma laughs, putting her hand to her chest in mock offense. “Are you telling me you don’t like  _ Twilight _ ?” And Regina’s glare tells her everything she needs to know. Her laughter is uncontainable, which only irritates Regina more, but despite her efforts to display pure annoyance, she’s still failing to hide a smile beneath it all. “Okay, yeah, I don’t know what brought me to make that reference. I literally haven’t thought about that movie in years. I thought that line was permanently removed from my memory.”

“It ought to be.”

“So…” Emma starts, unsure whether to let the subject of Regina’s age drop or not. She eyes the vampire carefully trying to gauge her reaction, but she doesn’t have much to go on except that her eyes are averted. Emma decides age is probably a sensitive topic for her. She shrugs. “Age is just a number. Or numbers…? Either way, it doesn’t matter. I think...you’re pretty great.” Emma ducks her head with her admission. Maybe it isn’t that big of a deal, but she feels emotionally vulnerable anyways.

“Thank you, Emma. I think you’re...pretty great as well.” Emma looks back up to meet her soft gaze, and she finds her breath taken away by how effulgent the brunette’s gentle smile is and just how different her eyes are when she looks at Emma now, as opposed to when they first met, and even the night of the dance. 

Ruby’s words come back to her.  _ You can’t help who you love _ . At the time  _ love _ seemed so ridiculous and far fetched, but right now, looking at Regina looking at her, it doesn’t seem so distant. For a moment, it actually seems possible, and she wonders if she should say something else. Something more. But instead, she looks back down to the book in her hands and asks, “Do you still want me to read to you?”

Regina smiles wider and nods, “Of course.” So Emma starts reading. She’s worried that she’s boring the vampire, but Regina is fidgeting significantly less than she was earlier, and every time Emma sneaks a glance up, Regina is looking at her with a dreamy smile that warms Emma’s cheeks. 

Their stools are pushed so close together that their legs are touching, Regina has one of her legs tucked next to Emma’s, resting it on her stool instead of her own. And it takes all of Emma’s concentration to focus on the words in front of her and not the contact between her and the vampire. It simultaneously gets worse and so much  _ better _ when Emma feels a brush against her shoulder before Regina’s fingers run themselves through her hair, she wonders if it was mindless or intentional. She wonders what it means.

She keeps reading and Regina keeps playing with her hair, and Emma looks shyly over at her, and Regina looks so content and Emma  _ feels _ so content, that she has nearly forgotten that there’s anything wrong in the world.

Emma ends up reading more than she actually has to, just to keep feeling Regina’s hand in her hair, on her scalp, brushing against her shoulder or her face every so often, and she hopes Regina doesn’t get suspicious. Eventually Emma starts to yawn and Regina rubs her back and purrs, “Aw, Emma, do you want to go to sleep?”

“No,” Emma says with another yawn.

So Regina takes the book out of her hands, sets it on the counter, and pulls her off the stool to face her. She brushes her hair out of her face, tucking it behind her ear before brushing her hand down Emma’s cheek. “C’mon, let’s go to sleep.” She takes Emma by the hand and brings her into the living room, where Neal and August are still playing video games, only significantly quieter than before. Clearly Emma isn’t the only tired one. “Okay, boys, it’s time for bed. Emma needs her sleep.” And Emma smiles at the way Regina makes it sound like the whole situation is for her benefit.

“Are we sleeping down here again?”

“I figured that was the plan.”

“Nah, you guys go on up. If Ruby comes by, we’ll be down here,” August gives them a tired smile before turning to Neal and calling dibs on the couch. 

Regina smiles at them before leading a sleepy Emma towards the stairs. “Goodnight.”

“G’night!” Emma waves, and she’s definitely  _ not _ pretending to be more sleepy than she is for the sake of being adorable. Because that would be ridiculous. She leans on Regina more than necessary, but she knows the vampire can support her weight so she doesn’t feel bad.

When they get to Emma’s room, she collapses onto the bed, fully clothed, causing Regina to snort, “Emma, you can’t go to sleep like that.”

“Like what?” Emma mumbles into the mattress.

“You’re still fully clothed.”

Emma turns to smirk at Regina, careful not to look too alert, “Would you rather me be naked?” And Regina just blushes, turning to grab Emma some pajamas and tossing them at her. 

“I can leave the room if you want, while you change.” 

“It’s fine,” Emma says as she gets up to change, her back to Regina, not knowing whether or not she’s looking. She leaves her clothes on the floor and climbs into bed, snuggling into the covers and peeking out at Regina, who’s not even changed yet. “Ginaaaa, it’s time for sleeps.”

The vampire rolls her eyes before turning and changing, just as Emma had done. She catches a glimpse of the flawless skin of Regina’s bare back, and she has to physically pull the covers over her eyes to stop her from staring. She doesn’t move until she feels the covers being pulled and Regina’s body slipping next to hers.

It’s like gravity, the way they come together.

Regina pulls Emma towards her, leaving the two of them face to face, Emma’s head resting on Regina’s arm, Emma’s arm draped on Regina’s waist as she gently grazes her fingers over the vampires spine, Regina stroking Emma’s hair out of her face. Emma wants to continue her cute sleepiness for Regina’s even cuter reactions, but she starts to actually doze off. 

Scooting as close to Regina as she’ll allow herself with them still facing each other, she let’s herself start to drift, and the last thing she feels before falling asleep is a spark of electricity shooting through her veins as Regina’s lips press against her forehead.


	10. the big moments are gonna come, you can’t help that. it’s what you do afterwards that counts. that’s when you find out who you are.

Emma is clinging to Regina like a koala bear, ignoring every attempt the vampire makes to wake her. She’s enjoying the contact too much and the way Regina says her name over and over again to rouse her. It’s when she finally decides to pull her body away from Emma’s that the Slayer lets her act go by sitting up too fast “Hey, that’s not fair!” 

The vampire looks alarmed at how suddenly awake Emma is before she realizes that the blonde had been faking it. “Don’t give me that look,” Emma grumbles, before scooting back over and forcefully cuddling herself into Regina. 

“Emma…”

“C’mon, Regina. I know you don’t mind.”

“Someone sounds confident.” Emma pulls back, worried. Does _ she mind?  _ Something must have shown on her face because something changes on Regina’s, and she speaks again before Emma can. “Emma, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I don’t mind at all.”

“But…” Emma quietly prompts.

“But… you have school, and we should go downstairs in case Ruby comes back.” Regina sighs as she brushes her hand through Emma’s hair, allowing her a few more cuddles. “I know you’re...sleepy,” she chuckles, “But we can’t stay here all day.”

“Okay,” Emma pouts. She surprises herself by pulling away early. “I’m gonna go take a shower.” She makes her way around the room, gathering her clothes for the day before Regina appears behind her, running her hand down Emma’s arm.

“Hey, Emma...”

“Yeah?” She asks, turning to face her. Regina’s closer than she expected, and her scent intoxicates Emma. She can’t stop her eyes from wandering down Regina’s face, but when she looks up, Regina’s doing the same, her eyes glazed over. “Regina?”

She shakes her head, snapping out of it. “Nothing. I’ll meet you downstairs okay?”

In the shower, Emma is totally overwhelmed, as she usually is, with everything involving Regina. The tension between them, the way Regina makes her feel, the way Regina looks at her, the way they gravitate. All of it is mind blowing and confusing, and it seems like the only options are to make a move or to cut Regina out of her life entirely, and obviously neither of those are options. She leans into the shower wall, groaning into her hands, as the steaming water runs down her back.

But should she make a move? She almost had, more than once, and she was sure that Regina almost had as well. She remembers last night, Regina’s lips on her forehead, and she considers what that could mean. She thinks about Regina’s hands in her hair, Emma’s hand gripping her waist, Regina’s lips on Emma’s skin,  Emma’s legs pressed into Regina’s sides, Regina’s bare back…

Emma’s hands move from her face as they slide down her own body, her forehead still pressed into the shower wall. It’s an unconscious movement, and she doesn’t catch herself until her hands are pressed between her legs, and everything seems to hit her all at once. She pushes off the wall, standing under the shower, running her hands through her hair, shaking the thoughts from her head. This is getting out of hand. It’s undeniable how much she wants Regina, her body tells her that much, but this is way bigger.

She has very real feelings attached to very real possibilities that she’s never been willing to consider until now. The circumstances that drove her here are not what she expected, but she doesn’t want to disrespect Regina or make anything uncomfortable for her. Just in case. She owes it to herself to express her thoughts and feelings before taking out her sexual frustrations with Regina in the house, while thinking of her. Maybe it could be flattering, but it doesn’t feel right, and there’s nothing Emma wants more than to make things right. So she shuts the water off.

As she dries herself off, she thinks about the concept. She doesn’t know how to make things right with Snow, not yet anyway, and she doesn’t know who her father is to make things right with him, but she does have something with Regina, what that is, she’s not sure, but maybe she can make things right there. It’s worth a try, and as Emma makes her way down the stairs, she decides once and for all, that she’s going to tell Regina how she feels. She might even kiss her.

She’s thinking about how that scenario would go when she walks into the kitchen, going instantly pale at the sight of Ruby sitting at the island with August and Neal, looking like she’s been totally pummelled. Black eye, bloody nose, busted lip, bruises lining her arms, and no one needs to tell Emma who did it. “What happened? Did you find her?”

Ruby gives a laughing scoff. “ _ She _ found  _ me _ .”

“So we don’t know where she’s staying?”

The werewolf shakes her head. “Sorry, Em, I tried. She caught me totally off guard. She’d changed her scent, the one I was tracking her with, so the whole thing must have been a trap. She was the one tracking me.”

“Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine, but…” Ruby trails off, looking away. 

“What?” And suddenly Regina comes in, eyes widening when she sees Ruby. Emma dashes over to her, “She’s okay, but something’s wrong.” 

Everyone turns to Ruby, who finally sighs and looks up at Regina. “Let’s just say, it’s a good thing you’ve been staying with Emma… She was at your crypt.”

“What?”

“Yeah. That’s where I was when she snuck up on me. She attacked me to the point where I couldn’t get up, and she said, ‘Tell Regina I have a message for her,’ and she gave me the message before she walked into your crypt.”

“What was the message?” Regina asks, alarm rising in her voice.

“Rumple.”

The room is too quiet, and Emma is glancing at Regina nervously, waiting for some kind of reaction, but nothing is changing on her face or in her eyes, and the bigger the silence gets, the more anxious Emma becomes. “Regina? What does that mean?” She moves to brush her fingers against Regina’s back, hoping that it could help, but Regina flinches and Emma pulls her hand back but turns to face the vampire. “Regina?”

Finally she looks at Emma, a wild panic in her eyes making the Slayer wonder if she’s seeing her or just looking at her. Their eyes aren’t meeting, and Emma tries for physical contact again, hoping to ground her, so she tentatively places a hand on Regina’s shoulder, and when she doesn’t flinch or pull away, Emma pulls her into a gentle hug, going so far as to tangle her fingers into the brunette’s hair and wrapping her other arm around the vampire’s waist. 

Emma is sure Regina’s going to be unresponsive, but she surprises her by gripping back at the blonde as if the room is spinning around them, she lets out a sob into Emma’s ear as she buries herself into her hair. For a moment, she just holds her, not pressuring her to answer or do anything or say anything, but eventually Regina pulls away, but Emma makes sure not to break contact. “Regina? Is everything okay?”

She shakes her head. “I don’t know. I don’t think so.” She glances around the room at the others. “You all need to get ready for school. I’ll handle Snow’s message, I don’t want you to worry about it.” They nod and move to get ready, August gripping Regina’s shoulder as he passes her. She gives him a soft smile.

Once they’ve all left, Emma turns to Regina. “Regina? I know you said you’d handle it, but I’m really worried. And I want to help you.” The vampire adamantly shakes her head. “Emma, no. You’re going to school. I’ll take care of this.”

“But who will take care of  _ you _ ?”

Regina brushes a stray strand of Emma’s hair behind her ear. “You’re sweet,” she says as she runs her hand lightly across Emma’s face before placing a hand on her arm. “ _ But _ you need to go to school. I’m not going to let you fail, and I’m not going to let you get hurt.”

“What if I choose not to go?”

“I’ll just tell August you’re thinking about skipping, and he’ll make you go. Drag you there, if he has to.”

Emma scoffs, “Not fair.”

“Totally fair.”

“Okay well, if you’re going to force me to go, do you think you’ll be able to message me while I’m in class?” She takes a step closer, and rests her hand on Regina’s waist, “Because I  _ really _ liked that.”

The corner of Regina’s mouth twitches as she fights a smile. “I don’t encourage it, but I do like talking to you, so I suppose I can make an exception.”

“You better.” Emma grins at Regina, but decides that now isn’t the time. “I’ll see you after school.” Emma turns to walk away, her hand lingering on Regina’s waist despite the growing distance between them. “Oh, hey, do you think you can meet me there? After school? If that’s going to be too dangerous, you don’t have to…”

“No, Emma, I’ll be there.”

“I’ll pick you up some lunch before school,” Emma says with a playful wink.

“You’re going to carry a carton of animal blood around in your bookbag?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Emma scoffs at the vampire. “I’m going to put it in my locker.” Emma moves her way towards the door, grabbing her bookbag. “Tell August I had to stop off somewhere, and I don’t need a ride to school. Stay safe, okay?” She dashes back over to Regina, leaving a chaste kiss against her cheek before slipping out the door, doing all that she can to not think about how Regina might’ve reacted. 

She doesn’t check her phone once on her way to get coffee for her and blood for Regina, and she doesn’t check it as she gets to the school. The first place she goes is the library, where David is snoozing in the office chair. Emma can’t help but snort, and it turns into a full blown laugh when he jerks awake and almost falls backwards.

“Oh, hey, Emma,” he says, trying to act casual like she didn’t just witness the entire thing. “How’s your morning? Did you bring coffee and…” he squints at the stuff in her hands, “Donuts?” Emma snorts again, also looking down at her winnings.

“Yeah, I actually did bring you coffee. I didn’t know what you liked but I got you the cinnamon bun flavor because it’s my favorite. Also because I knew I would get them mixed up.” She passes him the coffee before picking up the paper bag. “Uh, but this isn’t donuts. I actually was wondering if I could keep it in your mini fridge? I don’t want it to spoil.”

David nods, but still looks confused. “Uh, sure thing. What is it?”

“It’s for Regina.”

“Oh, yeah, your girlfriend?”

Emma’s coffee spews from her mouth, and she’s nearly choking on it when she registers that David’s half joking. “Not you too,” she groans.

He shrugs, “I make a bunch of dad jokes, and I suppose this is one of the other things I have to do as a…a middle aged father figure.”

“What, embarrassing your students?”

“Well, that and being nosy about all the gossip.” Emma rolls her eyes. “Also lecturing you on being late for class,” he says as he glances pointedly at the clock.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. So can I leave this in your mini fridge or not?” 

“Sure,” David says, nodding with a smile. Classic David.

“Awesome, you’re a lifesaver. Just pretend like it’s not even there, okay?” Emma says as she stuffs the bag into the fridge.

“You got it. I’ll see you sixth period?”

With a nod, Emma leaves the library, making her way to first period and still not checking her phone. In second period, Neal leans over and asks her how Regina’s doing, and Emma realizes that she’s being stupid and selfish in not checking her phone. What if Regina isn’t okay, and she’s been trying to contact Emma? So she whips her phone out, and panics for an entirely different reason when she has no messages from her.

She looks up at Neal with wide eyes, which sends him into temporary panic, “Oh god, what is it? What happened? Is she going to be okay?”

“I kissed her! Neal, why did I do that? I bet she hates me now!”

For a second, Neal looks more confused than anything before he laughs, “Emma, calm down. Okay, I want you to start from the beginning. I want you to tell me the whole story. What happened? And why do you think she would hate you?”

Emma groans, “Okay so it all started in the shower…”

“Emma!” She looks up at him in alarm. “I don’t need to hear about that stuff. Please.” She didn’t understand what he was talking about, until it finally dawned on her.

“Ohhhh! No, no, Neal, no. That’s not what this is about. And I  _ promise _ you I will never tell you about that kind of stuff.”

“Thank god.”

“Anyway, this morning, I had a revelation in the shower. I decided that I should make a move, or talk to Regina. So I was thinking about that this morning, but the timing wasn’t right with everything happening, but anyway, before I left, I just thought, ‘What if I just kiss her on the cheek before I leave?’ So I did it. But I don’t know what her reaction was, so she really could hate me. I just don’t want to make her uncomfortable, you know?”

Neal nods throughout the story and speaks up when he knows for sure that she’s finished. “Emma, look, I doubt she hates you. She probably doesn’t know what to say. I mean… most moments like that last long enough for you to gauge the other person’s reactions. But you don’t know hers, and she’s aware of that. Don’t feel bad, but you’ve kind of put a lot of pressure on it.” Emma groans again, throwing her head down on the desk. “What else did you say before you left?”

“I asked if she could meet me at school after gym, and she is. And I told her I’d bring her lunch, which I am. It’s in David’s mini fridge.”

“You have blood in David’s mini fridge?” Neal deadpans.

Emma shrugs, “Yeah? Anyway, back to the point. Regina. Also please don’t tell anyone else, okay?”

“You know I won’t. But yeah, don’t freak out so much. I can guarantee you’re overreacting.”

“How?” And then Emma’s phone lights up with a message from Regina, and Neal raises his eyebrows at her. “Okay, fine. Whatever.” But she doesn’t look at the message then or in her next period. It’s in fourth period with Ruby that she finally gains the courage to open it, totally afraid of the inevitable rejection Neal told her not to dread. She’s so anxious about it that she’s hardly able to recount what’s happened up until this point. 

When she walks into Biology, Ruby is waiting for her at their lab table at the back of the classroom, and she looks better than she did this morning, but Emma wonders if it’s just the lighting. “Do you heal faster too?”

Ruby shrugs. “I guess. Honestly I think I do because the state Snow left me in last night, I couldn’t even get up. I thought I wouldn’t be able to walk today.” After a beat, Ruby continues, “Hey, how’s Regina doing? I’m really worried about her after this morning. I don’t know what Snow was talking about, but it can’t be good for Regina to have reacted like that.”

“Yeah, yeah, I think it’s okay. Yeah, she’s handling it, she said. Everything will be fine. I think Regina’s fine. Fine like okay, you know. She’s okay. I think.” And then Emma remembers,  _ what if she’s texting me because she needs me? _ and it all starts again. It’s a vicious cycle. “Oh god,  _ is _ she okay?”

“Woah, Emma, chill. What’s up with you?”

“Ah, nothing, Ruby. Don’t worry so much.” Emma pulls her phone out under the desk as their teacher starts the lecture. She stares at the ‘new message’ icon for a few minutes, and all it does is work her up. She’s torn between fear of rejection and fear of something being legitimately wrong. Before she’s able to open the message, she gets another one. She opens both immediately.

 

 **Regina:** _How’s school? I hope you’re having a great day, Emma._

**Regina:** _ I also hope you’re not freaking out. Though, I bet you are. _

 

Emma can’t believe she had spent as much time as she had freaking out over the first message. As for the second, she is floored by how well Regina knows her, but she also doesn’t know what to say. Admitting that she’s freaking out is embarrassing to say the least, but  _ Regina already knows _ . And then the fact that Regina already knows makes Emma wonder what  _ else _ she already knows. 

But it’s fine, because she’ll know (for sure) soon enough. Maybe today will be the day. Maybe she’ll tell her after school. Maybe Emma can show her all her favorite (indoor) locations at school. Maybe she can pick a cute spot for a cute moment. She snaps back to reality when Ruby nudges her arm lightly. “Em, look alive or he’s gonna call on you. And I know you don’t want that.” She perks up, temporarily ignoring her phone, but still thinking about what to say. She finally settles on just sending some emojis, when her phone lights up in her hand again. She doesn’t hesitate to open it this time.

**Regina:** _ Emma, I know you’re in class so there’s no pressure, but I can’t shake the feeling that you are panicking about this morning, for more reasons than one, and I want you to know that I’m okay, with everything, and you don’t need to worry. Okay? You’re...you know, pretty great :) and you deserve better than to make yourself a nervous wreck. _

 

Emma grins so wide, she’s sure that her teacher is going to think something’s wrong if he looks up at her. She looks at Ruby, who’s gazing at her with a raised eyebrow. “What’s up with you?” she whispers. And Emma just smiles more in response before looking back at her phone. Regina’s okay, with everything. Regina’s okay. With  _ everything _ . Maybe she isn’t alluding to Emma’s last minute cheek kiss, but it sure sounds like it. And if she’s okay with it, that can only mean good things for Emma. 

So, in another step closer,  she goes for it, in another not-totally-subtle Emma kind of way.

 

**Emma:** _ :) :) :)  _

**Regina:** _ You’re cute. _

 

And it’s a good thing Emma reads Regina’s message the minute the bell rings, because the squeal that leaves her mouth would not have gone over well with her teacher. No one seems to notice, except for Ruby, who turns to Emma, mouth agape and eyes wide. “Seriously, Em, what the hell is up? Tell me.”

“She thinks I’m  _ cute _ .” Emma hadn’t wanted to tell anyone, but she couldn’t contain herself. At this point, she’s too excited to care.

Ruby snorts, “No shit.” 

The rest of Emma’s day is in direct opposition to how it was going up until this point, as every ounce of her anxiety is replaced by giddiness. She messages Regina again during her library period after she makes sure Regina’s lunch is still there.

 

**Emma:** _ reginaaaaaa _

**Regina:** _ Yes, dear? _

**Emma:** _ hi :) _

**Regina:** _ Hi yourself :) _

**Regina:** _ How’s school? _

**Emma:** _ BORING as usual. I’m excited for it to be over :) _

**Regina:** _ And why’s that? :) _

**Emma:** _ cause I get to see you :) _

**Emma:** _ you’re still coming, right? _

**Regina:** _ Of course _

**Emma:** _ okay, good. cause I got you lunch _

**Regina:** _ Oh, I see. Is that all you’re excited about? _

**Emma:** _ nooooooo  _

**Regina:** _ So, are you going to tell me what else, or...? _

**Emma:** _ you’d like that wouldn’t you _

**Regina:** _ That’s not all I’d like. _

**Emma:** _ ooh what does that mean? ;) _

**Regina:** _ Maybe you’ll find out. _

**Emma:** _ i’m counting on it _

**Emma:** _ gtg, i’ll see you after school gina(: _

 

And it’s a miracle that Emma makes it to the end of school, between thinking about Regina and her big confession, between thinking about Ruby and Snow, mostly Snow. Whatever she’s planning, it can’t be good, and after the way Regina reacted to her message, Emma is really on edge. She’s not sure what to think anymore.

“Emma, hey.” August approaches her as the bell rings, marking both the end of gym class and the school day.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Are we all meeting up after school again? You know, to talk about last night?”

“Yes, and no. Regina’s meeting me here after school. I was thinking it might be better if you guys all talked without her there, based on what happened this morning. You can do some objective research at home, think about it. Then I’ll talk to Regina when she gets here. I think she’s more likely to open up to me alone than all of us together, and I’ll see how she feels about sharing information with the rest of you. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.”

August nods, “Makes sense. We need to figure out what to do with Ruby tonight, also. We can’t let her run around outside, but I doubt she’s going to be comfortable trapped inside. She said she had a few ideas though, so I can update you later.” A silence falls between the two, as August gives Emma a kind of once over. “Are you okay? You seem a little… I don’t know, crazed.”

Emma snorts. “That’s an understatement.”  

“Do you wanna talk about it?” August prompts.

“I’ve got to get ready to meet Regina, so I’ll talk to you more about it later… tell you how it goes.” Emma offers up a sly smile before slipping away.

“Wait, what!?” August chases after her. “Emma don’t do that to me. Are you gonna talk to her about more than just the Snow stuff?”

“Maybe,” Emma winks and August just gapes at her. “Gotta go, August.”

“Yeah, Swan, you go get that girl. You better tell me everything later, I swear. And I mean  _ everything _ ,” he calls after her.

“Bye August!” She gives him a half assed wave as she walks towards the locker room to freshen up and change out of her gym clothes. It’s not long before she’s on her way to the library, eyes on her phone at a message Regina sent fifteen minutes ago.

 

 **Regina:** _I’m leaving your house now. I don’t know how long it takes because I didn’t time it out the first time, but don’t worry that something’s happened to me unless I’m not there in an hour. That being said, don’t worry. Everything will be fine._

**Emma:** _ it better be. stay safe please _

 

Emma drops herself into her favorite spot at a library table, wondering how to pass the time until Regina gets there. She pulls out a notebook to brainstorm about everything with Snow, and as she does, David ambles out of the office. “Oh hey, Emma. I was waiting for you to come back.”

“You were?”

“Uh, yeah. You still have something for Regina in my fridge, remember? It’s a good thing I’m still here, cause I usually lock the office door when I leave.”

“Oh, right,” Emma says with a frown. “Are you leaving now?”

“Maybe not for a little bit. Why, what’s up?”

Emma pulls her bottom lip into her mouth, chewing on it for a minute contemplating. She’s brainstormed more than enough on her own, more than enough with August, and Ruby, and Neal, and even Regina. The whole thing is insane, but having fresh eyes on the situation could be beneficial, as long as she doesn’t scare David off first. She doesn’t have to tell him everything, just enough to get his opinion. Or who knows, maybe he knows about this stuff? How random is it that he’s Snow’s replacement? Is he even from around here?  _ Fuck it. Maybe he can help.  _ “Hey, David?” she asks tentatively.

“Yeah?” He answers taking a spot at the table across from her.

Taking a deep breath, Emma starts. “Wow, okay. Uh, there’s kind of this situation I’m in. It’s pretty crazy, and I know you might not believe me, but I need some advice from, you know, someone I haven’t already gotten it from.”

“Is everything okay? You’re not in trouble are you?”

“It’s… complicated. It’s, uh… It’s about my mother.” And something flashes on David’s face that gives Emma pause. His eyes go wide, and it looks like he’s tearing up, but before Emma can really discern the flash of emotion, he’s looking down with a shake of his head. “David, what--” And then Regina is walking in the door, a wide smile on her face when she sees Emma that drops unnaturally fast when she sees David, who almost jumps at the sight of her, almost instinctively, even though he  _ knew _ she was coming, and their exchange of glances is enough to send Emma over the edge. “Okay,  _ what _ is going on?”

David and Regina exchange another set of looks that clearly say ‘should we tell her?’ and ‘looks like we’re busted,’ but neither of them say a word. The second glance confirms everything Emma suspects. “You know her, don’t you?” She demands, targeting David first. She’s about to turn to Regina before she’s cut off by the last words she ever expected to leave David’s mouth.

“Emma, it’s me. I’m your dad.”

His face is both pained and relieved as he watches Emma, gauging her reaction. Regina had started walking towards Emma the second she realized what David was going to say, and now she’s frozen, halfway to her, eyes wide. And Emma is standing, holding her weight up by leaning with her hands on the table, gaping at David. She doesn’t know what to say, but at least she’s not blacking out again. “You... _ what _ ?”

He tries again, “I’m your--”

“No, I heard you. But…  _ how _ ? What are you doing here? How long have you known who I am? Why didn’t you say anything sooner? Do you know about what’s happening with Snow? Does she know you’re here too? She could have  _ killed _ you; you should have told us so we could have protected you.” The words just fly from Emma’s mouth, and she doesn’t try to stop them, not like she could. Then she looks to Regina, suddenly realizing, “Oh. That’s how you know each other.”

“Emma…” Regina starts.

“No, Regina. I need to say something,” she says before looking at David. “I know what she’s done, and I understand you might hate her, but we can trust her.” She gives Regina a soft smile. 

“I know.”

“Okay, good.” The three stand nervously for a while before Emma looks back to David. “I still want all my questions answered.” David gestures at the seats across from him as he sits back down. 

“Hold on,” Emma stops before slipping into the office. “Since you know everything, this shouldn’t be weird for you,” she says to David as she takes the carton out of it’s bag, pulls a travel mug out of her bookbag, and pours the blood into it before snapping the lid back on and handing it to Regina. “Lunch, as promised.”

David just watches, unphased. “You know, I used to do the same thing for your mother, when--” but he stops short at the look Emma gives him. She tries to pull the blush off her face as she sits back in her seat next to Regina, but it doesn’t work.

“You have some explaining to do.”

“I know I do, but I don’t know where to start…”

“Well, you’re my father. You could start there. But there’s probably a better place to start. Like, you know…”

“Snow.”

* * *

 

_ David’s life was always average, and while he hoped something exciting would happen to him, a part of him doubted that anything would. He lived with his mother until he left at eighteen and went off on his own to Boston, where he started working in construction. His mother wanted him to go to school, but he always said he could do that later, if he wanted. There was no rush, especially when he still didn’t know what he wanted out of life. _

_ When he met Snow for the first time, buying coffee, he still didn’t know what he wanted in life, much less in the coffee shop. He wasn’t even sure he wanted coffee. But tomorrow was his day off, and he was too restless to try and sleep, so he let his feet lead him to the cafe. “Hi! Welcome to  _ Espresso Express _!”  _

_ And all David could do was look at her and smile. He knew nothing about her, but was drawn to her. Her incredible smile, her light voice, and the only response he could manage was, “Hi,” and he hoped it was enough. _

_ She smiled back, a faint blush spreading over her fair cheeks. When a moment of silence passed, and neither of them said anything, she chuckled softly. “What can I get for you today?” _

_ That’s when he panicked, darting his eyes from the beautiful woman in front of him to his hands to the menu hanging above the barista’s head and then back to his hands before he sheepishly looked back up. “I don’t know. I actually forgot about the coffee.” _

_ The giggle that left the woman’s mouth had David’s heart skipping a beat. He laughed with her, grateful that there was no one else in line behind him. “I’ll have whatever your favorite is,” he said smoothly. “My name’s David.” _

_ The barista gestured at her nametag with a smile, “My name’s Mary Margaret, but most people just call me Snow.” _

_ David grinned at her. “Snow. Wow. It’s nice to meet you.” And he held out his hand, which she took. Her hand was cold, but it was perfect, and he hoped he didn’t ruin the moment with his own sweaty palms.  _

_ She made his coffee, and handed it to him. “I hope you enjoy it.” And he did. So much that he returned at the same time next week, even though this time, it wasn’t for the coffee.  _

_ Eventually his weekly midnight coffee runs became more frequent. It made no sense that he went in there at midnight for coffee, given that his job started at five in the morning, but he found going to see Snow at  _ Espresso Express _ irresistible, and eventually, he made a routine of it, by going in every single night at midnight. They would always make brief conversation, and David found himself drawn in more and more every time. _

_ “Do you even like coffee?” she asked him one night. _

_ “I do, actually,” he answered with a nervous chuckle. “Why do you ask?” _

_ Snow snorted at him, “Well, you never tell me what you want, specifically. You just have me make you different things like, “your favorite,” “the last coffee you drank,” “what that guy had,” “something you think might taste good but you’ve never actually made before,” etcetera. And then you never finish it all. Or even most of it.” _

_ David laughed, “Uh, yeah. So it’s a long story, but I can’t drink coffee this late at night, or else I won’t get any sleep before work.” _

_ “What do you do?” Snow asked, brows furrowed in confusion. “You don’t work a late job? I always thought that’s why you came for the coffee.” _

_ “Ah, no. I work in construction.” _

_ “But isn’t that an early morning job?”  _

_ David nodded, “Five in the morning actually,” and Snow took a step back, crossing her arms and cocking her head, opening her mouth like she was about to yell at him. “Well, sometimes I don’t have to be there until seven?” He grinned innocently, but her glare persisted. _

_ “You come in here five hours before you have to be at work to buy coffee you don’t even drink? What kind of sense does that make?” Snow raised her eyebrows in challenge, and David just smiled and shrugged, raising his eyebrows back and opting out of a wink on account of how awkward he knew it would look, before leaving the cafe, hopefully in a way that came across as mysterious and not totally rude.  _

_ Their interactions grew every time. She kept asking him why he still came for coffee even though it directly affected his work schedule, and he never gave her a straight answer. “You don’t ever work doing the day, do you?” _

_ “No…” _

_ “Then I’m going to keep coming at midnight.” And that was the closest he ever came to confessing his feelings. It had been months, and he couldn’t shake the random and uncanny affection he had towards Snow. _

_ The next night, before he walked out, she stopped him. “I like you coming by the way. I mean, I wish you would let yourself sleep, but, being totally selfish, this is my favorite part of the day.” And that was enough for him to consider that maybe there was something there. _

_ He didn’t sleep that night. Instead, he stayed up contemplating his life. Just like before, he had no idea what he wanted, and he was sure he might never know, but when he thought about his future, he imagined Snow being a part of that, and he would go down finding its possibility.  _

_ He trudged to work the next morning, dragging his feet all day, worn out. He couldn’t wait for tonight, and while he wasn’t sure it was going to go as planned, he knew he didn’t want to hold his feelings in any longer. _

_ It just so happened that he was contemplating more than just his feelings for Snow, in particular, his feelings about his construction job. It paid well enough, and he was good at it, but the more he thought about what else he could be doing other than construction, the more he wanted to leave it all behind him. His exhaustion didn’t help at all, but when his bossed pushed him to the edge, he jumped off. _

_ “I quit. I mean, uh, sorry, that sounded rude.  I just mean… I can’t do this anymore,” and he dropped his hard hat to the ground as he walked off, not looking back. The first thing he did with his day off should have been job searching, but instead, he slept. _

_ When he finally woke up, he looked at the clock next to him, reading 12:23, which was enough to wake him from his twelve or so hours of deep sleep. He couldn’t miss Snow. Not tonight. He got to Espresso Express as fast as he could, and forty-five minutes after midnight, he threw the doors open to reveal the cafe, dead as usual, and Snow standing in her usual spot behind the counter, her sad expression suddenly wiped clean as she lifted her head to see who had just entered. _

_ “David,” she said, sounding surprised and relieved and nervous all at once. _

_ And maybe it was the extensive sleep he just had, or the fact that he was free from his job and had no current obligations, or the beautiful and kind woman looking at him with the softest of smiles and wide eyes full of promise, but the surge of energy inside him was undeniable as he made his way to the counter. He let all thoughts and expectations go, as he boldly made his move. “Forget the coffee,” he said before placing a hand on Snow’s face and pulling her close, meeting her halfway over the counter to bring his lips to hers. She didn’t hesitate to kiss him back, and his heart swelled with the promise of her soft lips on his, her hand gently cupping the back of his neck, the smile she gave him before ducking her head nervously. He stayed with her until the end of her shift. _

_ Walking her home, he asked her out to dinner. “I know you work every night, but we can make it work. We can even go to breakfast if that’s more manageable for you.” Snow looked conflicted, and he was so worried in that moment she was going to reject him, but she didn’t pull her hand out from his, so he took it as a good sign.  _

_ “I’d say you could come over for breakfast after my shift one day, but you have work.” And then it seemed to hit her as the sun‘s rays were getting closer to showing themselves. “Speaking of work, shouldn’t you be going now?” _

_ “No, I quit.” _

_ “You quit?” _

_ “I quit.” David pulled her closer, “So about that breakfast…” _

_ Snow giggled as he brought their lips together once more before she led him towards her apartment. “Does right now sound good to you? Do you like pancakes?” _

_ David was taken aback, but the smile on his face hid his surprise perfectly. “Right now? Are you sure?” _

_ “Yeah, why wait? Unless you’d rather wait…” _

_ “No, no. Right now is perfect.” _

_ “Perfect.” Snow repeated, as she led him up the stairs to her apartment. As soon as David stepped through the door, he felt so at ease. Everything about this woman made him feel content and comfortable, and he couldn’t imagine anything changing that.  _

_ They cooked breakfast together, and he was so happy that he didn’t even notice she hardly ate anything. He did the dishes for her, and when she started yawning, he said, “I’ll go so you can get some sleep,” as he stifled his own yawn. _

_ “Or you could stay… if you want,” Snow purred, pulling him close. “It’s just that… I feel really comfortable with you here. I haven’t felt this way for a long time, and I… I’d like it if you stayed.” And he did. She led him to her bedroom, where they lingered by the bed, holding each other close. _

_ He asked, “Is this okay?” when his hands dipped under her shirt to feel her bare back, and she said, “I trust you,” as she ran her fingers through his hair, crashing their lips together before they let themselves fall to the bed together, become tangled in each other, and become one, more comfortable together than they’ve ever been with another.  _

_ They didn’t fall asleep for a couple of hours, but just before they did, Snow whispered to David, “If you wake up before me, all I ask is that you don’t open the curtains,” and David didn’t ask why, but the trust in her voice was evident, and he never wanted to break that. So he cuddled Snow closer to him, nuzzling into her hair while she burrowed in the crook of his neck, and they drifted off to sleep together. _

_ In some ways, this became a routine. David had picked up a retail job working at night, and he usually got off work in time to see Snow at her job, and at the end of her shift, they would return to Snow’s apartment for breakfast, sometimes a movie, sometimes other activities, and sleep. Sometimes David had to work morning shifts, which were usually the days they couldn’t see each other, but their relationship rapidly developed. A couple of nights, both of them would find a way out of work so they could go out on a proper dinner date, all dressed up, though David thought Snow was stunning regardless of her attire. It never seemed odd to him that they never went out in the sunlight or that Snow always had her curtains drawn. _

_ One morning, after their breakfast, they curled up together on the couch, at David’s apartment instead of Snow’s for the first time, where Snow had quiety moved around the room to close his curtains, muttering something about ‘ambiance,’ but she was avoiding David’s eyes and wringing her hands together. _

_ David took her hands into his. “Snow, babe, what’s wrong?” She bit her lip, looking nervously up at him. He was suddenly nervous too, but he tried not to show it. The only person who had ever felt so important to him was his mother, and he hated that Snow felt apprehensive. “You can talk to me about anything, Snow. Anything. And if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s fine too.” _

_ She brought their lips together, grinning softly, “You’re so sweet.” He brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, giving her an encouraging smile. “There’s something I need to tell you. And I understand if it deters you, and I understand if you never want to see me again, or if you hate me, or--” _

_ David gripped her hands tighter. “Don’t worry, okay? You know that I trust you, and I care about you. You don’t have to tell me anything until you feel like it’s the right time. There’s no pressure with me.” _

_ “I know, David. Thank you, but I have to tell you now. I’m worried I’ve already waited too long.” David suppressed the panic he felt at those words, keeping hold of Snow’s hands, drawing circles with his thumbs, and keeping his eyes on hers. She took a deep breath, while he waited patiently, and finally the words left her mouth. ““I’m a vampire, but I’m also a vampire Slayer. I’m a vampire with a soul.”  _

_ And David really didn’t know what to say. For one, he didn’t know that vampires were real, and his first instinct was to think that was insane, but he trusted Snow with his life, and he believed her. He did the only thing he knew how. He ran his fingers through her hair, and pressed his lips to her forehead, wiped a tear slipping down her cheek, and uttered the truest statement he knew. “I love you.” _

_ At his admission, her eyes widened, looking surprised and relieved and nervous and joyful all at the same time. She was speechless, and it was adorable. He smiled at her and said it again. “I love you. I know it’s soon, and I know it’s crazy, but I do. I would never lie to you. You’re the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me, and I still don’t know what I want, but I’d love for you to be a part of it.”  _

_ He kissed the tears from her face, and when he pulled back, she was beaming. “I love you too.” The two shared another kiss, broken by Snow suddenly snorting, through her laughter, she said, “You know, I’m pretty sure that what I said is  _ way _ crazier than what you said. Vampires are less believable than love.” _

_ David laughed with her, “I guess you’re right, but maybe not everyone would agree with you.” Snow’s face fell slightly. _

_ “I know they wouldn’t.” And then Snow told David everything, how she got where she was, the role Regina played in her life, the way she killed her best friend and her father, how she never thought she could be happy.” He asked her about having a soul, and she shrugged, admitting that she’s always wanted to know but has never known where to start, and that’s when David decided to make it his mission to help her make sense of everything. _

_ It wasn’t long after that that they moved in together. They choreographed their schedules so that they could spend more time together, and it wasn’t the most ideal, but they made it work. Snow continued her third shift job, and David picked up a third shift job as well. In the hours of darkness they weren’t at work, David helped Snow patrol, and fight vampires to save the world by her side. In the daytime, Snow stayed in reading and researching the books David found during the day, while he went out to find more resources as well as run errands.  _

_ They relaxed together when they could between work and research. For a while, they weren’t finding anything, which made Snow restless. “Maybe we can find Regina, I think she might know more than I do. Or we can find the  Council of Watchers Herc was a part of. I bet they would know more.” _

_ But David would remind her every time. “I don’t think it’s safe to ask Regina for help. Even if she knows something, I don’t want to risk you getting hurt.” _

_ “Or you,” Snow said with a sigh. “She would probably kill you, or worse. And I can’t let that happen. But the Council…” _

_ “Snow, you said it yourself, the Council is unhelpful. They could have helped you, reached out to you when Regina sired you, but they didn’t. They don’t care about your fate, not the way they should. We can handle this on our own.” _

_ Snow believed him, and for a while, he was right. But one day, something seemed off, and David came back from a trip to the store to find Snow sitting at the table, looking troubled, her hand on her stomach. “Snow? Is everything okay?” He rushed to her side, kneeling next to her and taking her hand. “Are you okay? Talk to me, baby.” _

_ And she looked up at him, conflicted, torn between fear and joy and confusion. “I think I’m pregnant?”  _

_ And David wanted to be happy, smile and spin Snow around the room, thrilled at the news that they were going to be parents, but he knew that the situation was delicate, complicated, and more than a little unsure, so he pulled Snow into his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around her, kissing her head. “We’ll figure this out together.” And they tried. _

_ A few months later, Snow started showing, and it was completely evident that a baby was on the way. They just didn’t know what to expect other than change. The only information they could find regarding vampires and pregnancy was pulled from horror movies and other similar media, and it seemed like nothing would surface in their field of legitimate research. More than once, Snow suggested Regina or the Council, and every time, he considered it more and more. They obviously weren’t getting anywhere on their own.  _

_ It only made him more nervous that they hadn’t seen a doctor. They couldn’t be sure what Snow’s pregnancy would look like compared to an average human pregnancy, and neither of them wanted to take the risk, knowing that if anything looked odd, and it was revealed that Snow was a vampire, both she and the child would be locked up.  _

_ Everything with the pregnancy seemed to be going normally. David cooked nutritious meals for Snow, alongside her normal amount of blood, and neither of them spoke about the potential species of their unborn child. Snow had a good feeling that everything would be fine, but David grew more and more nervous, the more the pregnancy went on. _

_ One night, when Snow was at work, David set out on a private mission, and it was easier than he expected. One bus ride and a short walk later, he found himself in Storybrooke, Maine, in front of a crypt belonging to Henry Mills. He wasn’t sure what the protocol was, if he should knock, but luckily, he didn’t have to wonder long. _

_ “David Nolan. I must say I’m surprised to see you here,” he heard a sultry voice from behind him, and he turned to see a woman sauntering towards him, a smirk on her face. “What do you want?” _

_ “Are you Regina?” He asked her nervously. She just continued to smirk at him, making no move to answer. “I don’t know what to do, and I think you might be able to help.” _

_ “Help? Didn’t she tell you  _ anything _ about me?” _

_ “She told me everything. She doesn’t know I’m here, and I don’t intend on her finding out.” Regina snorted in response, but he continued anyways. “I’m serious, Regina. Snow is pregnant.” The vampire’s eyes flashed up at his, her expression unreadable. _

_ “What?” _

_ “She’s pregnant. This has been progressing for months now, and we don’t know what to do or what to expect or how it happened. When she goes into labor, should I take her to the hospital? How do I know that the doctors won’t take my family away? Will our child be human? How did this even happen?” _

_ Regina watched him crumble, exploding with frantic questions he’s never dared to ask through this whole process. “You’re in love.” _

_ “Yes,” David answered. _

_ “No, that wasn’t a question, it was an answer. Vampires can conceive children through true love. I’m not sure how much more I can help you, but I do have some books on the subject. I’m afraid I can’t loan them to you, but I’ll see what I can do about getting you the information. When’s she due?” _

_ “Two weeks,” David said, not even batting an eye. _

_ “Two weeks,” Regina repeated. “I’ll find you when I know more,” she said, walking towards her crypt. _

_ “How will you find me?” _

_ “I just will.” _

_ And she did.  _

_ Two weeks later, when Snow went into labor and David realized he couldn’t do it himself, he rushed Snow to the hospital. She tried to object, but he told her it was the way it would have to be done. “No matter what happens, Snow, I’m here for you. I’ll keep our family safe, I promise.” And she nodded. _

_ “I trust you.” _

_ When they got to the hospital, David checked them in, and as Snow was getting wheeled to a delivery room, he realized that he left all of Snow’s things in his car. He crouched down in front of her, kissing her on the head and then again on the lips before telling her, “I love you. I’ll find you in a minute, I left your bag in the car.” She nodded at him, screaming as the next contraction hit her. _

_ David ran back to the car, grabbed her bag, ran back into the building, breathing a sigh of relief when he made it back in front of the elevator doors. They opened, and he climbed inside, immediately hitting the button of the floor Snow was on. Someone appeared on the other side of the doors, just as they started to close. The smirk was immediately recognizable. “Regina?” _

_ But then the doors were shut, and it wasn’t long before the elevator jerked to a halt, sending David crashing to the floor. There was no way out, and there was no time to lose. He chastised himself for trusting his girlfriend’s mortal enemy, realizing that as he stood alone and stuck in the elevator, that this was all a setup. For what, he didn’t know, and he was more than afraid to find out.  _

_ It took a lot of screaming, banging, and attempts to break out of the elevator from the inside out to finally escape. David wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he hoped he wasn’t too late. The doors were finally pried open and he didn’t hesitate to dive out of the elevator and run for the stairs, ascending the next few levels as fast as he could. When he finally made it to the room, he was relieved to see that Snow was more or less safe, sleeping in the bed. It was clear she’d already given birth, but their newborn child was nowhere to be found. _

_ David’s first instinct was that there was something inhuman or wrong with their child, and it had been pried from Snow’s arms and taken to some kind of testing room, and Snow had to be sedated because she refused to be separated from her child. But Snow wasn’t hooked up to any kind of machines, which led him to his next thought. Regina. _

_ Regina had taken their baby, and Snow had been knocked out or passed out. Without trying to wake her, he ran to the desk closest to Snow’s hospital room, trying to remain calm, hoping to avoid a scene or being interrogated with unnecessary questions. “Excuse me. Can you tell me what happened to the baby that was just delivered? In room 423?” _

_ The woman in front of him sighed before picking up a clipboard and skimming it. “The infant was discharged about ten minutes ago.” _

_ “Discharged? How? By who?” _

_ She gave him a curious look before looking back down. “It says she was discharged in the care of her Aunt. Someone by the name of Regina. That’s all that I can tell you.” _

_ “She?” David’s breath hitched as the word got caught in his throat.  _ We have a daughter?

_ “Sir, I can’t tell you anything else. Now if you don’t mind, I need to get back to work.” And David found himself silently backing away, acknowledging that fighting the hospital on their weak policies would be more trouble that it was worth. They obviously don’t care enough about their patients and their families, and since this whole situation he was in had a supernatural aspect, he didn’t want them to be any more involved than they needed to be. So he did what he could to remain calm and have Snow discharged so he could make her comfortable at home, so he could explain everything to her as soon as she woke up and the two could come up with a plan. _

_ He waited patiently for her to wake, not wanting to disturb her or cause any more panic, but eventually, it was too much for him. There weren’t enough things in the world to distract him, and he didn’t think Snow would want him to waste too much time, so he gently shook her awake. It took a few tries, but finally her eyes blinked open, and she glanced around at her surroundings in alarm before locking eyes with David. _

_ “David, I just had the worst nightmare. I had our baby without you, and then you came into the room to meet our daughter, and it wasn’t you, but Regina. She took our baby…” But she trailed off, brows coming together. “David… what’s wrong?” _

_ He took a deep breath before taking her hands into his. “It was real.” _

_ “No. No. No, no, no.” She climbed out of bed, and David wanted to stop her, wanted to tell her that she needed to rest, but he knew it was no use. “David, we have to find her. Our daughter.  _ Regina took her _.” Snow frantically paced back and forth, unable to wrap her head around what was actually happening, and suddenly she stopped in her tracks. “Wait, we were at the hospital. What are we doing at home?” _

_ David didn’t answer immediately. He knew that Snow would understand, but he also knew she would have handled the hospital staff very differently than he had, especially considering that she was the one who had been carrying their child for the past nine months, and her mother instincts were active even before the pregnancy.  _

_ He walked over to her before cautiously explaining, “We have to be careful. The police and the hospital can’t find out about vampires or we will never be reunited. I had to get us out of there before they figured anything out.” He gave her an apologetic smile, and she reached for his hand in comfort. He squeezed her hand, and exhaled, giving himself away when it came out shaky. Her other hand stroked his face as she rested her forehead against his. The concern in her eyes was overwhelming. “I’m so scared, Snow.” David closed his eyes, focussing solely on the contact between them. He was supposed to be the one comforting her, not the other way around, but he let her, knowing that looking out for others was something she found strength in, and she needed it now more than ever.  _

_ “I know you are, but I promise you it’ll be fine. Regina’s lost a baby before, so I doubt she would let a baby die, not even mine. Our daughter will be fine. We have to believe that somehow she’s going to end up getting her best chance, and that one day, hopefully sooner rather than later, we’ll find her.” He looked back up at her when he heard a sniffle, surprised at the intensity of the tears streaming down her face, so he pulled her back onto the couch with him, wrapping a steady arm around her while she cried into his lap, “I am so sorry, David, this is all my fault. I never meant to let you down, and I never wanted to let our daughter down either. You never even got to meet her, and it’s all because of me.” _

_ And David’s heart nearly broke on the spot. He couldn’t admit to Snow that it was his fault Regina even knew about the baby, so he consoled her as best as he could, telling her that it wasn’t her fault between tender kisses to her temple. _

_ “What if it won’t be okay?” That was all the motivation David needed. He would do whatever it took to take the sadness out of his girlfriend’s eyes, anything to bring the fire back to her heart, anything to reunite their family. He pulled Snow’s lips to his in a passionate kiss before standing up, packing essentials. “David, what are you doing?” she asked, her voice laced with worry. _

_ “I’m going to find her, Snow. I’m going to find our daughter.” _

_ And he knew she was going to say it as soon as he’d made his decision, and he was ready to argue with her over it if he had to. “I’m coming with you.” She began packing alongside him, frantically. He put his hands on her arms to stop her, shaking his head. _

_ “Regina will be expecting you to go after her, and I can’t have her taking you too. I want you to stay out of harm's way as best as you can.”  _

_ “I don’t like this plan,” she admitted, but she wasn’t fighting him on it, and David knew she would let him do whatever he needed to do. He leaned forward, kissing her on the forehead. _

_ “I knew you wouldn’t, but this is the way it has to be. I don’t know how long this will take…”  _

_ Snow nodded. “I know, but I trust you. Do what you have to do. We’ll find each other.” _

_ “We always will,” David added, as they walked to the door together. “I love you, Snow.” _

_ “I love you too, David. Please be safe,” Snow responded as she pressed their lips together one last time. David melted into her, not wanting to pull away, but not wanting to lose any time, and not wanting to disappoint Snow any further. She deserved happiness, and he was going to fight for it, no matter the cost. _

_ “I will find our daughter, and we will find you again. I promise.” _

_ So David set off to Storybrooke, figuring that the best place to start was to look for the woman who took his daughter, and lucky for him, he knew where she lived. But it was too easy. It was the same as before. A bus to Storybrooke, and a short jog to her crypt, but she wasn’t there. It was daytime, so he knew she wasn’t out and about, but that night, she was bound to return home, if only briefly. So he sat himself down in the crypt and waited, but nothing happened. _

_ Finally, he heard leaves crunching around the crypt, and he stood, armed and ready to fight, but he froze when, instead of Regina, he ended up face to face with another man, dark hair, dark beard, somehow rugged but refined at the same time. David cleared his throat, prompting the man to introduce himself. _

_ “I’m not a vampire, if that’s what you’re thinking, and I’m certainly not on the same side as this one,” he said, scoffing as he gestured at the space around them. “I’m Arthur. You must be David.” Arthur held his hand out, but David just stared at it. _

_ “How do you know my name?” _

_ “We know a lot about you. We’ve been keeping an eye on you for some time now, well, more specifically, your girlfriend, Mary Margaret.” _

_ The mention of Snow immediately had David back on the defense. “What do you want with Snow.” _

_ Arthur put his hands up, attempting to make peace of an already spiralling conversation, “Look, I want to explain everything to you, and I will if you’ll let me, but now isn’t the time or the place. There’s a diner around here, we can go there, drink some coffee, talk this stuff out, if that sounds okay with you?” _

_ David let himself calm down, nodding tentatively. “Fine.” _

_ And so, the two found themselves at Granny’s Diner in Storybrooke, coffees in front of them. But David refused to touch his until he had some kind of explanation. Arthur just smiled at him, immune to David’s glare.  _

_ “Are you going to explain yourself?” _

_ Arthur sighed before setting his coffee mug down. “Look, we’re not evil. You can cut the act now, save it for the fights from here on out that will really matter.” _

_ “We?” David’s gaze softened in favor of his newfound confusion. “What the hell are you talking about? What fights? Who are you?” _

_ “Like I said before, my name is Arthur. I’m the leader of a group of men called the Council of Watchers. Have you heard anything about us?” David’s eyes widened, back on the defense, glare hardening once again. “Woah, okay, I’m guessing that’s a yes. Snow must have told you.” _

_ “I know everything I need to know about you. You didn’t protect her when she was living with a murderous vampire, and you weren’t there for her when that same vampire turned her into one and made her kill her Watcher and her father. She was forced to kill one of you, and you did nothing. She called out to you for help, and you did nothing. Why should I expect you to help us now?” _

_ “We have our reasons,” Arthur replied, his mouth a tight line. _

_ “Fuck your reasons. I have to find my daughter,” David stood up, taking a step to the door, but Arthur’s next words brought him right back. _

_ “We know where she is.” _

_ “What?” David turned back to the man, slipping back into the booth. “Can you really help me?” _

_ “Only if you can help me.” _

_ “How?” David asked, suddenly desperate. He still didn’t trust this man or the Council, but he would do anything for his family. _

_ “I’ll tell you, but first, I’d like to explain the situation fully, if you’ll allow me to do that…” David nodded in agreement, finally taking a sip of his coffee and making himself comfortable. “Good. So as you probably know, Watchers are assigned to Slayers to teach them and train them. The calling of Slayers is out of our control, but the taming of them is not.” _

_ “Taming?” _

_ “You make it sound so bad when you say it like that…” _

_ “ _ Your _ word.” _

_ “Yes, well, I suppose you’re right. What I mean is that Slayers need to be guided, especially considering they’re called as teenagers, and they’re all women.”  _

_ David didn’t even try to hide his eyeroll. “Let me guess. Watchers are all men?” _

_ Arthur shifted uncomfortably. “Yes. Anyway, we have our Watchers that do the hands on work, and the Council that runs the show. We keep an eye on everything to try and maintain order in the system. _

_ “It isn’t just about the Slayers, but the rest of the world too. There are vampires everywhere. They don’t just manifest where the current Slayer lives. Surely this makes sense to you?” David nodded. “Right, so, we also do research, something I know you’re familiar with, and we have the most extensive library of books regarding supernatural events and information, and I’m sure we have a lot of books that would more than answer many of your questions, but we will get to that. _

_ “When Snow was called, we had a very delicate situation on our hands when it came to light that her stepmother was a vampire. Regina was very careful about her identity, and Snow was very protective over her. When we found out, we weren’t sure how to handle it, because Regina wasn’t an active threat to Snow, and we couldn’t catch her doing anything immoral, even though she was. By the time we made a plan to ambush her, she had sired Snow, and it was too late.” _

_ David scoffed, “You were supposed to protect her.” _

_ Arthur ignored his comment and continued, “As you know, Snow’s soul carried over with her. We’ve done thorough research on vampires and their souls, so when we heard she had hers, we knew we had to keep an eye on her. If she had lost her soul, we would have killed her. She would have been too powerful, too capable, and too evil. As it happens, she was the same, only stronger, and we knew she would continue to fight on our side, but she needed space. She would have run from us. _

_ “But the thing about vampires and souls is that they have to  _ earn _ their soul. If they’re acquired any other way, they are temporary and fragile, and they can get whisked away with true love and true happiness.” _

_ “Wait…” David closed his eyes, shaking his head.  _

_ “Maybe I should have explained first. Your child was conceived because of true love. The love you and her share. However, the kind of true love and pure happiness that would take Snow’s soul from her would be larger.” _

_ “Our daughter…” _

_ “Exactly.” _

_ David shook his head again, suddenly angry, “Hold on. Is Regina working for you? Is that why she took our daughter?” _

_ “I told you I wasn’t on her side, didn’t I?” Arthur said, frustrated. “We know where your daughter is because we’ve been keeping an eye on Regina too. It just so happens that she took a similar approach to this situation than we would have. It’s actually quite odd… the compassion she showed for your daughter. Honestly, we can’t explain it.” _

_ “Well where is she?” David demanded. _

_ “Let me finish explaining. I promise I’m getting there.” David sighed again, slumping back in the booth with a less dramatic eyeroll than the last. “When she met you, we were worried her soul was at risk, but when it wasn’t, we were relieved. But then we found out she was pregnant, and we needed a course of action. Our plan is now irrelevant, so we’ve created a new plan. I think it’s ultimately better than the last one, thanks to Regina.” Arthur chuckled. “Wow, never thought I’d say that.” _

_ “Okay, so where do I come in?” David asked. “You say I can help you. How?” _

_ “I want to make a deal.” _

_ “A deal?” David scoffed again. “You realize how shady that sounds right?” Arthur nods, raising his eyebrows in question. “What’s the deal?” _

_ “If Snow and your daughter are reunited, and Snow learns of her identity and expresses a gesture of love, something as simple as a kiss, Snow is at risk of losing her soul. If they are never reunited, Snow can continue living as a vampire with a soul. If she loses it, she could become one of the most evil vampires we’ve seen to date.” _

_ “What’s the deal?” David repeats. _

_ “You can either join us and keep an eye on both Snow and your daughter, but at a distance, meaning you’ll never see them again.” David opens his mouth to protest, but Arthur continues before he can. “ _ Or _ … you can ignore us, find your daughter on your own, and reunite your family at the risk of Snow losing her soul and killing both you and your daughter.” _

_ David’s eyes widen as a gasp leaves his lips. “Are you sure she’ll lose her soul? There’s no way around it? Maybe I can help her earn it…” _

_ Arthur shakes his head. “If she loses her soul again, she can get it back, yes, but as far as we know, there is nothing powerful enough to restore it. It would have to transcend what we already know about true love. You’re better off keeping her safe with us.” _

_ David was torn. He didn’t want to abandon any of his family, but it didn’t sound like he had much of a choice. “What will happen to my daughter? Who will take care of her?” _

_ “Regina took her to a home in Phoenix. She cared for her the whole way there but left her for someone else to look after. She’s inexplicably ensured her safety. We looked into it, and it checks out. She’ll go into the system.”  _

_ David nodded. “Do you think she’ll be happy? Healthy?”  _

_ “She has as good a chance as any other child has.” And Snow’s words came back to David,  _ we have to believe that somehow she’s going to end up getting her best chance. _ He wasn’t so sure that’s what was going to happen, but he was going to hope. At least she would be alive. _

_ “Where’s Regina now?” _

_ “She’s probably on her way back here as we speak, so the sooner you come to a decision, the better. It would be for the best if she didn’t know we were ever here.” _

_ “Okay.” _

_ “Okay?” _

_ “I’ll join you,” David admitted. He’d be able to keep an eye on Snow, to keep his family safe, and if nothing else, he would have access to the resources he could use to bring them together. He made a promise, and he had no intention of breaking it. _

_ Arthur took David back to the Council’s headquarters in New York City, showed him around and introduced him to the other members. “Merlin and Lance are in charge of overseeing the entire Council with me. The rest of my men have their own concentrations. This is Grif, Kay, Morgan, Mordred, and Percival,” he said pointing everyone out one by one. “Men, this is David. He’s in charge of the case with Mary Margaret Snow and her infant daughter.” He turned to David, “We have a team of Watchers as well, but they’re not here. They only get called in when we need to discuss a project with them before they’re sent out on site.” _

_ After Arthur led him through all the facilities, including David’s own living space and personal resources, they ended in the library. “You’re welcome to any of these books for your own research, whether personal or professional. You’re officially in charge of the Snow situation, so I trust that you’ll be able to handle it on your own.  _

_ “However, if you need, you can bring someone onto your team. Take applications and host interviews. It’s just like any other job. We’ll be paying you and providing benefits as long as you’re handling this for us, and we will allow for one other to join your team, if you prefer.” And David did prefer. Arthur had given him two files, one labelled ‘Snow,’ and the other labelled ‘baby.’ “This is all the information you’ll need on both. Your daughter has been named since her arrival at the home, so that’s in there as well. You’ll have to make contact with child services to keep track of her whereabouts and new homes she’s placed into or if she gets adopted.” _

_ David was shaking his head, “This is too much.” _

_ Arthur shrugged. “Bring someone in. Put them in charge of your daughter’s file and her whereabouts. You’re not a terrible father for protecting your emotional state. I can’t imagine this job is easy.” _

_ So David took Arthur’s advice, collecting applications and doing interviews. He wanted someone who was willing to drop everything to devote their time to helping him and looking out for his daughter, making sure she would be safe. Out of all the applicants, one took the job far more seriously than the rest. “I will do everything within my power to ensure your daughter is kept watch over. If I can improve the situation, I will ensure that it will be done.” And David was sold. The man’s dedication was staggering, and everything checked out. _

_ “Welcome to the team, Mr. Gold,” David said, extending his hand to the man, who took it and gave it a firm shake. _

_ “Please, just call me Gold,” he responded with a toothy grin. _

_ David placed Gold in charge of his daughter’s file and protection, and he kept the details he knew at a minimum, finding it too hard to get close to his daughter or the situation without actively being a part of her life. It was far worse to be too close physically and just as distant as he was now. _

_ He knew that his daughter was in foster care, at least in the beginning. Gold intervened by working in child protection services so he would have influence over where she would end up. It pained David to think of his daughter being shuffled from home to home, but a part of him was almost relieved that she wasn’t raised believing another man was her father. He told Gold early on that he didn’t want to know her name. It was only fair to Snow, who also remained in the dark. Gold ensured him daily of her safety, and the more time passed, the better David feels, and the more he trusts Gold.  _

_ He had no doubt that his daughter would be adopted into a loving home and raised there, but when the day came, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear about it. It would be too emotional, and he was barely holding it together watching his lover at so far a distance, never being able to talk to her.  _

_ He watched as Snow pulled her way through the loss and panic of losing their daughter, he watched as she forced herself to move on and retain faith that David would return, he watched as she continued living in their home and driving his car that he left to her, he watched as she maintained routine, he watched as she lived in solitude, he watched as her coworkers scrutinized her for her continually youthful appearance, and he watched her move to Storybrooke because of an open librarian position.  _

_ Part of him smiled, knowing that she would love the job, but more than anything, it made him nervous. But he also watched as Snow and Regina never crossed paths. He watched her in Storybrooke, falling into a new routine. She was noticeably happier, but it was clear she wasn’t satisfied. So when Gold approached David four years into Snow’s life in Storybrooke about the rise of a new Slayer and the chance for Snow to become her Watcher, David didn’t hesitate. “I think that’s a great idea! We can run it by Arthur and the rest of the Council.” _

_ In the meeting, Arthur started off the same way he always did. “Snow still has her soul? What’s she doing now?” _

_ “She’s still a librarian in Storybrooke. Alone. But yes, she still has her soul.” David’s heart clenched, always shocked by the juxtaposition of his caring concern for the love of his life compared to the cold aloofness of the Council. The longer he was with them, the more he hated them, but he still didn’t regret his decision. _

_ “And the girl?”  _

_ “She’s okay.” And this was always enough for the Council, who knew even less than David did about her. _

_ “So what would you gentlemen like to address today?” _

_ David started, “As you probably know, a new Slayer was called in New Hampshire about a year ago. She’s moving to Storybrooke, and Gold suggested that Snow could be her Watcher. I think it would be really good for her.” _

_ Arthur nodded, “If you think she can handle it, then that’s fine. David, gather what Snow would need, and mail it to her, but make sure your name isn’t anywhere on it. Sign it off from the Council, rather than personally in any way.” _

_ “Yes, sir.” _

_ So David typed up a letter while Gold prepared the file. Clearing his throat, he asked, “Hey, Gold?” _

_ “Yes, Dearie?” _

_ He turned to the man next to him. “I can’t believe I haven’t already asked you, but what’s the name of the new Slayer? So I can include it in Snow’s letter…” _

_ “Emma Swan.” _

_ “Thanks,” David smiled, returning to the letter. _

_ After the file was sorted and sent, David watched Snow go from sad to ecstatic upon receiving the letter and looking through the file. Emma moved to Storybrooke, and everything seemed to be going so smoothly. It appeared that Emma and Snow got off to a rough start but were soon growing more relaxed with one another, making jokes and laughing, and it was certainly the happiest he had seen Snow in a while.  _

_ Emma grew comfortable with her identity, something she wasn’t the first time David saw her. She seemed sweet, but more than anything she had been nervous and on edge, like she expected someone to try and knock her down at any given moment. His heart broke, hoping that whatever or whoever had made her this way had a good reason. _

_ Everything was going so well, that he didn’t see it coming, and when it happened, the whole situation had him completely and utterly shook.  _

_ Snow lost her soul. _

_ Snow lost her soul when she kissed Emma on the forehead after taking care of her. _

_ Snow lost her soul after she found out Emma was her daughter. _

_ Her daughter.  _ Their _ daughter. _

_ That night, when the Council summoned him, he moved like a zombie into the meeting room, totally in a daze. He sat down, and they told him what happened, even though he already knew. He had watched Snow flee from Emma’s home, clutching her chest, choking back cries and ‘oh god, no’ and ‘please no, I just found her’ and ‘she needs me’ and ‘David needs me,’ before making it to a safe space where her soul was ripped from her body, leaving her weak. He had watched as Snow had woken up, scowling and angry before adopting her new persona, straying far from the Snow he knew, muttering evil remarks he had to tell himself she didn’t mean. _

_ The Council shook their head at him, asking, “Did you know?” and “How could you let this happen?” And David wasn’t even sure what to say. It had been Gold, but he didn’t know why, he didn’t know where the man was, why weren’t they talking to him as well, and he didn’t know what reason the man had to sabotage his family and his career. He had trusted him for eighteen years. _

_ “Gold…” David muttered. _

_ Arthur shook his head. “He quit. I’m surprised you didn’t already know.” _

_ “There’s a lot I didn’t already know.” _

_ The looks he received were full of pity, David had a hard time meeting their gazes. “Look, David, you’ve been doing so well, and we love having you work for us, but we can’t afford for these things to happen. We’re sending you with one last load of resources to Storybrooke. You’re officially Storybrooke High’s substitute librarian. You’re going to fix this.” _

_ “But how?” _

_ “You’ll figure it out.” _

_ David slumped back in his chair, lost. How would he save Snow? In the last eighteen years, he hadn’t found any way to preserve Snow’s soul, and he knew that the more evil the vampire, the harder it was for them to earn their soul, and from what he’d witnessed, Snow was so far from getting it back, even with David there. He wasn’t sure he could bear seeing her again, the cold in her eyes as she would presumably look right through him, unfeeling. _

_ And Emma. _

_ “If I’m the substitute librarian, then that means…” _

_ “You’ll be reunited with your daughter, but whether you choose to tell her or not, that’s up to you.”  _

_ Emma. That was going to be another emotional mountain to tackle. He would be undercover, so close yet so far away, exactly like he knew would be too hard to handle. She wouldn’t know who he was, and part of him thought it was for the best. He had finally read Emma’s file himself, looking at how rough her life was being raised in an unforgiving foster system, and if she knew that he could have prevented it somehow, he didn’t know if she would find it in her to be forgiving. He wasn’t sure he deserved forgiveness. _

_ Meeting Emma was more nerve wracking than he imagined, but he cherished every moment. He hadn’t been ready. It was early morning, before school, and he was in Snow’s office, which still smelled like her. He looked at the little notes she had left herself, realizing how comforting it was to see her familiar handwriting again. She had a picture of her and their baby on the desk, a moment he had been forced to miss, and the sight made his heart clench. He brewed the coffee she had, remembering that it was her favorite kind. _

_ He wandered out of the office, into the shelves to explore and escape the smells of Snow, overpowering him almost as much as the sadness welling in his chest, and suddenly someone else was in the library, tiptoeing towards the open office door, and David was standing behind a head covered in blonde curls, and his heart was about to leap out of his chest because he  _ knew _ it was her, without even having to look at her.  _

_ His shoe squeaked on the hardwood floor and she spun around, her green eyes going wide at the sight of him, surprise clear on her face. There was no recognition on her face, and David tried to look the same as he smiled at her, laying his eyes on his daughter in person for the first time. The shock still hadn’t left her face, so he put his hands up as if to say that he was harmless, and tried for a laugh, but the sound of it was emotional and her eyes were still wide when she looked away abruptly. He introduced himself, trying to salvage the situation. His desire for her to trust him was vehement. “My name’s David. I’m the substitute librarian.” _

_ The look that flashed on her face made it clear that she had no idea what had happened to Snow, but he couldn’t be the one to tell her. “Substitute?” _

_ “Yeah, the school called me earlier this morning, asking me to fill in. They didn’t tell me what happened, but they said they might need me for the rest of the school year, depending.” He hoped it wouldn’t be that long. He hoped Snow would be okay. He hoped she would survive this. He hoped they all would. _

_ “Oh.” And David was blown away at how mature she looked, like she had to grow up too fast.  _ No thanks to me _ , he thought. He shook his head, trying to remember how to make this conversation as normal as possible, because for her, it’s just another conversation. “Sorry, your name is?” _

_ “Emma Swan, uh, I’m kind of Snow’s assistant. Or I guess I’m the librarian assistant technically. Sixth period.” This was a pleasant surprise. Before this encounter, David was sure that spending any time with Emma posing as a random stranger would be something akin to emotional torture, but now that he was talking to her, he wanted nothing more than to spend as much time with her as possible, earning her trust and making her smile. _

_ He held out his hand beaming at her. “It’s great to meet you, Emma. I look forward to working with you.” _

_ She took his hand, and it was smaller than his, but her strength was evident as she gave his hand a firm shake.  _ Slayer strength _ , he smiled to himself. “You too, Mr… uh….”  _

_ “Nolan. But really, you can just call me David if you want.” The formality of Mr. Nolan was too much. Her comfort was important to him, after all, and something about the familiarity of using first names seemed like the right course of action. _

_ “David. Okay,” she said, testing the name out, glancing at him to make sure it was okay. He gave her a reassuring smile before catching her glance over to their left where the book cage was, and he knew immediately that she was eyeing Snow’s stash of supernatural research. He tried not to notice.  _

_ When she left with a nervous, “See you later,” David went to Snow’s vampire books, skimming through, relieved to see that all of them were also in the Council’s library and he had already looked through. It was clear what was going to happen. He was going to let Emma take them, sure that she would want them as soon as she figured out what really happened to Snow.  _

_ She started sooner than he expected it, and she wasn’t exactly subtle, though he could tell she thought she was, and the idea made him snort. She was very clearly his daughter even without being raised by him. _

_ His first day at lunch, he met Emma’s friends, and all of them smiled and joked with him. August talked about how he loved research. Ruby was “smart but could manage without books,” reading them “only when she had to,” and Neal’s introduction was his favorite as he casually admits, “I only read about vampires,” and David couldn’t help but laugh. They didn’t suspect anything.  _

_ When Emma got there, she looked up at him like she forgot librarian’s could go out in the sunlight, and he smiled even more at the way she seemed to realize how ridiculous the situation was, even though she really had no idea yet. Her bookbag was full, and David smiled knowing full well what she had in there. _

_ He caught her smuggling out the last of the books before sixth period, and he tried to turn his amused smirk into a look of surprise to see her walking out of the library as the bell rang. She immediately turned to re-enter, asking him what the plan was for the class period. Truthfully, he didn’t know, so he went with what made the most sense.  _

_ So the two of them spent the period in Snow’s office organizing Snow’s already organized stuff, Emma at her desk, David in the chair Emma said was her favorite spot in the school. “When Snow was here, anyway. No offense, but I don’t really know you well enough yet.” The  _ ‘yet’ _ had David grinning, and he smiled even more when she gave him, a tentative grin in return. _

_ He asked her about her favorite subjects and if she did sports, the kind of books she liked or if she preferred movies. She told him about how she’d never really gotten to see many movies or read many books due to the nature of most of her foster homes. She admitted to not really liking school, but her favorite classes were Latin and gym. She stumbled over the topic of extracurriculars, saying she “kind of does wrestling and martial arts and boxing… you know, stuff like that,” and David allowed himself a soft laugh, knowing that she was talking about slaying. _

_ He took a risk, mentioning last night’s dance and if she went with anyone special. She blushed awkwardly and said, “I guess there were a few special people there.” _

_ “Your friends?” He asked with a chuckle. _

_ “And some other people,” Emma shrugged.  _ Your mother _ , David thought. He hadn’t seen any of the events of the dance, but he knew that Snow had chaperoned. _

_ “Did you dance with any of these special people?” Because what kind of father would he be if he didn’t pry into the romantic aspects of his daughter’s life, even undercover. Besides, it seemed like a topic of conversation any random adult would walk themselves into. _

_ Emma’s blush deepened. “I don’t know,” she finally admitted, and they spent the rest of the period in mostly silence. _

_ The more time Emma and her friends spent in the library, the more comfortable David became around them and vice versa. He offered up some of his best jokes to them, even the kidnapping one, which took him a long time to find funny, and he felt as weird as he expected he would when Emma laughed at it. He hadn’t meant to say it, knowing she might be sensitive to the topic, but her smile lit up the room, even when accompanied by an eye roll, the same kind Snow would given him. The others appreciated his jokes as well, but never quite as much as Emma, and he wondered if she sensed something special about their relationship. _

_ Every so often, she looked at him like she was suspicious, but he was fairly certain it was wishful thinking. He wanted nothing more than to open up to her, tell her who he really was, let her know that he could help them plan and save Snow, but it was never the right time. He wondered if there ever would be a right time. _

_ When Regina was suddenly a part of Emma’s life, it was unexpected and terrifying and somehow comforting, but more than anything, it bewildered David. He walked into the library one day to see the usual crew at their usual table. He greeted them in his usual way, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw Emma leaning towards a new person, and not just any new person, but Regina, his girlfriend’s sire and arch nemesis, her kidnapper. She was giving Emma a subtle smile, like she was amazed, but the smile wiped from her face the minute she saw David. She tensed, and David was surprised that she seemed suddenly fearful and nervous, like she was afraid of disappointing Emma.  _

_ They shared a look of understanding, they weren’t going to say anything about the other, but neither of them relaxed until Emma spoke again, entirely oblivious to the awkward vibes filling the room. “Crap, sorry, where are my manners. Regina, that's David, our substitute librarian. David, this is Regina. She's, uh, a student. My friend from, uh, Latin class. Yeah. Latin.”  _

_ The look Regina gave Emma was priceless, and David had to force his snicker into a friendly smile as he made his way to Regina, holding out his hand, “Nice to meet you.” And it was all so weird how he was pretending to meet someone he’d already met, someone he’d spent years trying to forgive, moving to the place where she lived and finally seeing her in the last place he expected to. If someone had told him this was the situation he would find himself in a year ago, hell, even a week ago, he wouldn’t have believed it. _

_ Understandably, Regina hesitated before taking David’s hand, but when she did, her hand was cold in his, and he felt her tremor before pulling her hand away and glancing nervously at Emma out of the corner or her eye. His eyes flashed between the two of them, taking in the blush on Emma’s face and Regina’s clothes which David thought might actually belong to Emma, and he couldn’t help but wonder if there was something going on. _

_ The room was too quiet and too tense so he made another joke before retreating to Snow’s office and closing the door, not even sure what to make of the situation.  _ Was Regina helping to save Snow? Would she tell Emma who he really was? How much did Emma know about her? Did Regina earn her soul? If she had, what did that mean for Emma?  _ But he shook the thoughts from his head. He would make sense of some of this later, but for now all he knew was trust was crucial, for both Emma and Regina. _

_ He was in Snow’s office doing research later that day when he walked out at the ring of the bell, and Emma and Regina were deep in conversation. The shocked look on Emma’s face, wide eyes and slack jaw, was enough to let David know that Regina was spilling her life story. Emma looked at David, and he knew that Regina wasn’t going to tell Emma anything about him. “Uh,” he started, waiting to see if either of them were going to speak first. _

_ Emma did. “I should probably go to gym, was that the bell?” But her eyes were glazed over and her expression hadn’t changed, and she was looking at Regina like she forgot David was in the room and that anything else existed.  _

_ “Emma, go on to class,” Regina told her. “I’ll finish my story later. We have all night.”  _

_ She brushed her hand on Emma’s knee, and Emma grabbed it desperately. “Regina, no! This is so important. Please don’t stop, okay, I want you to keep going.” The vampire’s eyes flashed to David, and he couldn’t tell if she wanted him to convince Emma to go to class or just let them keep talking. _

_ “Emma, you know… class is important too. And you can spend of the rest of the day together…” He was about to throw in a “Regina should go to class to” just for good measure, but Emma cut him off. _

_ “Not now, David, Regina is talking to me. She’s so important-- I mean, this story is so important. Go away.” The last part came out whiny, and her eyes flickered over to him like he was about to scold her. “Please?” Regina smiled into her lap, and that, along with Emma’s telling slip up regarding Regina told David all he needed to know. _

_ “Just be smart about this, okay?” He said, knowing that Emma thought he was talking about skipping class, but really, he was talking about something bigger, and before he left, he caught Regina’s shocked eyes, and David just smiled his approval at her, something he still didn’t quite understand. _

_ The next day when he saw the group in the library, Regina wasn’t there. So after his daily joke, and a few ironic comments about David being such a “dad,” he decided to ask, “Hey, uh, what happened to that other friend of yours? The one from yesterday?” just to see what would happen.  _

_ Ruby laughed while Emma started with a quiet, “Uh, what? She, um...she’s…” until August put her out of her misery by giving David his own answer. _

_ “Oh, Regina? Yeah, that’s Emma’s girlfriend. She--” And it was clearly not the right answer because Emma stood so abruptly that the chair almost fell backwards. She was blushing so much, and it was honestly adorable how clearly smitten Emma seemed, even though David should be disturbed and discouraged by the entire relationship. _

_Before darting from the room, Emma stuttered through her admission._ _“She’s, uh… Regina isn’t… She isn’t here. And she’s not my girlfriend.” And David was actually surprised._

_ “She’s not?” He couldn’t help but ask the three remaining students. _

_ Ruby rolled her eyes, “No, because Emma refuses to admit it. The two basically have eye sex all the time.” _

_ “Uh…” is all David could say, grateful for when Neal spoke instead. _

_ “She has her special Regina smile.” _

_ And David knew exactly what he was talking about. The few times he’d seen them together, and even the times when Emma was alone, she would get this dopey smile on her face, the same kind he knew that he got when he was with Snow, or even when he would see her or think about her or the two of them together. “She does, doesn’t she?” _

_ “Wow, you know she’s got it bad if you’ve picked up on it too,” August added before leaving the room. _

_ David chuckled. “And Regina has an Emma smile. I’ve seen that, too.” But it was clear that Emma hadn’t, so David apologized to her in sixth period, for putting her on the spot. He wasn’t going to push it or make her feel uncomfortable, so when she suddenly launched into a Regina-based ramble, admitting to the two of them sharing a bed and “definitely not cuddling,” he was surprised. He blushed at the admission nearly as much as she did, but luckily she ducked her head and missed it. He knew from experience where her lack of discretion came from.  _

_ He told her that she could trust him, and with a smile she told him, “You’re like the father I never had, but always wanted,” and David would be lying if he said that wasn’t the most painful thing he’d ever heard in his lifetime. Emma seemed to sense it, because she apologized and tried to fix the weight of the room with a joke. He wondered how she would feel if she knew how accurate her statement was, or if she would still want him after she heard his story. _

_ The entire experience of being in Storybrooke thus far had been nothing but odd. He hadn’t seen Snow at all, or heard anything, or found anything, and he reached a point where he thought he never would unless he confessed his identity to Emma to help them out. He had been hoping she might approach him or slip up, the latter being more likely, but he had no such luck. _

_ Regina being a part of Emma’s life was also odd. When he first met Regina, she had seemed so much older than him because in some ways she was. They leveled out, but now, he looked twice her age and was watching her ogle his daughter like she’d never seen anything more worth protecting. It made her seem younger, but it made him feel younger at the same time.  _

_ Emma’s presence was becoming more and more heavy, every time they interacted, and it just felt more and more necessary to come out to her, but he needed more incentive, or some kind of sign she would be okay with it.  _

_ He finally got it. Emma seemed off during sixth period, so he checked in. “Hey, I don’t want to intrude, but are you okay? I know you might not want to talk to me, because I’m just some lame old librarian, but I want you to know that I am here for you, if you ever need it.” _

_ “You’re not old.” _

_ “Old enough to be your father,” but he regretted saying it immediately as he watched Emma’s small smile disappear entirely as she avoided his eyes. “Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… Did I say something wrong?” And he could tell she was thinking about opening up. She looked up at him, and he could see it. This was it. _

_ “You didn’t, no. It’s just that… I’ve never met my father…” And David’s head was spinning as he tried to wrap his head around the idea of this conversation and the fact that it was actually taking place. She admitted to wanting to meet him, she admitted to meeting her mother and losing her all in the same breath, and she even admitted to the idea that she might be able to save her mom by finding her dad, which was not something David had been expecting.  _

_ He attempted to cheer her with a half-truth, half-joke, “Well, you never know. Maybe he’ll turn up. Find you first.” _

_ She chuckled once, but it didn’t last long. “I don’t know about that, but I hope so. I hope he’s looking. I have a good feeling though. For a long time, I thought I was just abandoned, but lately I’ve had some kind of instinctual feeling of hope. Maybe it’s from meeting my mom.” _

_ He spoke before he could stop himself. “She does have that kind of effect.” _

_ “What?” Emma’s eyes went wide, and he covered up his mistake as best he could, thinking that his tendency to blurt out things and his lack of skill in covering up his tracks would give his role as Emma’s father away sooner than the words themselves. _

_ “Uh, moms I mean. Moms have that kind of effect. Hope.” _

_ “Oh,” Emma said, clearly confused, and he could tell she was trying to piece together something she had missed. He considered that this was the time, but he didn’t tell her. She needed more time. After all, she knew where to find him. _

_ And she did. _

* * *

 

When he’s finally finished, Emma just stares at him, slack jawed. Regina’s hand is on hers, drawing slow circles with her thumb, and she almost doesn’t notice. David stares nervously back at Emma, waiting for her to say something. When she doesn’t he asks, “Did I answer all of your questions?”

Emma shrugs slightly, her face remaining unchanged. “You were very thorough.”

“Is that a yes?” Emma can feel the tension radiating from both David and Regina and she can tell they’re waiting for her to explode with some kind of emotion, or maybe black out like when she found out Snow was her mother, but it just isn’t going to happen like that. She’s inexplicably unsurprised, relieved to have heard another part of the whole story.

“I don’t have any more questions, per se, but uh, I don’t understand why you couldn’t have just adopted me and raised me with the Council while you found a way to reunite all of us.” But as she says it, she watches David’s face fall, and she wishes she could take it back. “Nevermind, it doesn’t matter. It’s just a hypothetical. I just… I get your logic. I’m sorry.”

“No,  _ I’m _ sorry,” David says suddenly, eyes slowly filling with tears. “I never meant to let you down. If I’d known…” He shakes his head. “I never wanted you to have a hard life, Emma.”

“I know. I didn’t mean to sound rude. It is what it is, I guess. I promise I’m not upset with you. You did what you had to to survive. And we’re here now.” Emma kind of smiles into her lap for a moment before looking back up at David. “I did say you were the dad I always wanted. So I’m glad my wish came true.” 

David grins back at her. “You can keep calling me David, by the way, if that makes you more comfortable. Emma nods, distracted by a thought.

“Hey, uh… David? What ever happened to that Gold guy?” She and Regina look to David expectantly, but he just shrugs.

“I have no idea. I haven’t seen him since before everything happened. All I know is that if I ever see him again, I’m punching him in his sorry face. He was pretty old, I think I could take him,” he says with a proud grin.

Emma laughs, “Okay, sure. Uh, so I guess we should talk about saving Mom?”

David beams at the word ‘mom,’ but he stops her before she can say anything else. “Uh, one last thing.... just so you know, so  _ both _ of you know,” he says with a glance at Regina, “I don’t hate you, Regina.” 

“Thank you David.”

And Emma looks to Regina in time to see her give David a genuine smile before looking at Emma. Her smile changes slightly, and Emma can’t point out exactly why, but she knows that the one meant for her makes her melt. David clears his throat. “Right, sorry,” Emma says, blushing and looking away. “Plans.” She pulls out the notebook she’s dedicated to planning and researching, pulling out Regina’s true love plans and handing her the list. “Read this to him.”

“Me? Why can’t you?” 

Emma rolls her eyes, “Regina, please? I won’t ask you to do anything else.”

“Yeah, right,” Regina quips, but she takes the list from Emma and reads it to David anyway. “ _ One: finding Snow’s true love, Emma’s father, and reuniting them. Two: trying to bring back Snow’s motherly true love for Emma. Three: using the fatherly true love between Emma and her father by reuniting them somehow and exposing Snow to their family love. Four: finding a new true love for Snow if we can’t find Emma’s father. Five: finding a true love for Emma and showing Snow the true happiness of her daughter. Six: exposing Snow to true love in general to remind her that she has it (or has had it) too.” _

Emma hardly lets a minute of silence pass before she jumps into what everyone thinks is best. “Okay well, all of us arranged which idea we thought was the best, down to what we think is the worst. Obviously we all think that four is the worst plan, so don’t worry.” Regina clears her throat. “Uh, actually, Regina thinks that one is better than the motherly love one, but that one wasn’t really favored either. 

“Personally, I think one is the best, but I’m the only one. Ruby and August like five the most, but I think it’s cause they like making fun of me. Regina and Neal like six, which is pretty good because it’s more general. We’ve been looking into possibilities and alternatives.” Emma swallows before taking the list from Regina’s hands and passing it to David, “What do you think?”

“I don’t know. The Council told me that for a vampire as powerful as Snow, they haven’t known of anything strong enough that could earn her soul. They said it would have to transcend everything we know about true love.” David looks over the list for a moment, reading it over again before looking up to Regina. “What worked for you?”

“What?” Regina asks.

“How’d you earn your soul?”

And the room gets so quiet that Emma is afraid to breathe. Regina isn’t looking at David, she’s pulled her hand away from Emma, and David seems oblivious to anything being wrong. Emma can’t help but shift uncomfortably in her seat. 

After a long silence, Regina finally says, “I don’t have a soul.” David is gaping at her like he can’t believe it, and Emma can’t help but feel like she’s missing something.  _ Should Regina have a soul? Does she act like she has a soul? Why is David so surprised? _ She’s about to ask when Regina suddenly speaks again, even softer than before, “I’ve been thinking that maybe I can’t ever earn my soul… because I’m the product of true evil.”

David makes a noise of disbelief, “There’s always a way.”

“Not this time,” she whispers.

He tries again, “But true love--”

“Not this time,” Regina says even more firmly, head still down and turned away.

And Emma feels something break inside her. She doesn’t understand what it is or why it’s there or how to make it go away, but nothing else matters more than just trying to disappear. She was stupid to think she ever had a chance with Regina. She was stupid to let herself get attached. She doesn’t remember when or how she ended up in the hallway walking away from the library, but when she hears Regina calling her name from behind her, she wants to sob.

“Emma, please, come back. Talk to me.” She stops walking, but she doesn’t turn. Suddenly Regina is standing in front of her, not touching her, but just standing, waiting for her to look up at her, but she won’t. She can’t. “Emma, I don’t know what to say.”

“There’s nothing to say.” Her voice isn’t even a whisper.

“Emma…” Regina says again, and it’s so emotional that Emma feels the same breaking pain she felt just minutes ago, and she realizes it’s her heart. She wonders if Regina can hear it. She looks up into the vampire’s eyes, so full of tears that it’s staggering.

“Did you hear that?” Emma finds herself asking, unable to stop. And Regina nods, almost imperceptibly, taking a step closer to Emma, reaching for her as if to hold her. Emma’s about to let her when all the sudden there’s a noise from behind Regina.

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here.”

Regina spins around. “Snow.”

“Get my message?” She smirks at Regina, who goes paler at the reminder. Emma hopes there’s finally going to be some elaboration, but there isn’t, and Snow is sauntering towards them. “I know you don’t know the extent of what it means, but you know enough. It’s only a matter of time.”

Snow is almost right in front of them, and to say Emma is panicked would be an understatement. Both she and Regina are entirely unarmed, and David could come out of the library any minute. Emma really wants to believe that her father kissing her mother would restore Snow’s soul, but as the opportunity comes closer to presenting itself, she doesn’t want to test that theory and end up watching her mother kill her father.

In Emma’s panic, Snow reaches them, smirking at their empty hands, pulling out a switchblade and lightly trailing it down Regina’s jaw line, not enough to leave a cut, but enough to make Emma nervous, humming while she does it. “I’m going to show you just how worthless you are.” 

Regina flinches back at her words, and Snow presses the blade harder against Regina’s collarbone, drawing a little blood. Emma watches as it trickles down her neck. “I hope you realize how terrible a vampire you are. Not good enough for a soul, not bad enough to kill me, not good enough to save your little...pet,” she says, side eyeing Emma. “You destroy the ones you love the most, and you always will. It’s like Daniel all over again.”

“Shit,” Emma mutters, drawing Snow’s attention to her.

“What? Worried about your girlfriend, or scared because you know she’s either going to kill you or get you killed?” And Emma wants to say something, to defend Regina, but no words come to her, and instead she finds herself spitting on Snow.

“Bitch!” Snow yells as she backhands Emma, leaving her staggering backwards from the impact. When Emma regains her balance and looks up, she’s horrified to see David standing outside the library staring at Snow. His eyes are wide with hope, and his eyes are so full of love that she wonders if he could restore her soul with just a look.

“Snow,” he says, his voice as deep as his eyes, and he takes several brisk steps towards her so that they’re almost side by side. She yanks her hand back before he can reach it and backs up towards the wall on the side opposite David, and her face changes so perceptibly for a moment that Emma almost smiles. Snow’s eyes soften, and she almost reaches out for David’s hand, but everything disappears in a flash and she’s scoffing at him.

“David,” she scowls. “Looks like you’ve gotten old. Good thing I’ve lost my soul so I don’t have to worry about doing  _ that _ again.” She lurks closer to him, slowly backing him into the wall. Emma cringes when she notices that he came out unarmed as well. “So, why are you here? Oh, no wait, let me guess. Regina helped Emma find you and bring you back so you could kiss me and restore my soul?” 

She turns her head to smirk at Emma. “Sorry, sweetie, you’re out of luck,” she says before turning back to David and crashing her lips into his. Nothing happens, and Emma lets out a strangled gasp as Snow tosses David to the ground like a ragdoll. “Disgusting,” she mutters before turning back to Emma. “Aw,” Snow mocks in a baby voice,  “Sorry your daddy couldn’t save the day. And as for you…” She grips Emma’s shoulders, placing a kiss on her forehead. “That won’t work either. I loved you enough once for you to make me who I really am, soulless, but no one could ever love you enough to earn their soul.” She glances over at Regina with a laugh before turning to walk back to David.

Emma is hyperventilating as she watches her mother hovering over her father, who’s clearly in pain as he struggles to get up. Snow is saying more words to him, but the hallway has started to spin, and Emma can’t hear anything. She feels like she’s going to black out like she did the night of the dance when suddenly she feels cool hands gripping her face. “Emma,” comes a whisper. It comes again, and then again, trying to pull Emma back. “Emma, please.”

She’s finally able to focus her vision, Regina is in front of her, close, stroking her cheeks with her thumbs, and Emma chances a glance to the side where Snow is pulling David off the ground in a less than friendly way. He’s wincing in pain, and Emma almost falls. “Emma, hey, look here. Come back to me. Don’t pass out, okay?” Emma locks her eyes back on Regina’s dark ones and gives her a small nod. “Everything is going to be okay,” Regina says as she presses her lips to Emma’s temple.

As soon as it happens, Emma feels the same surge of energy she’s been used to feeling when she and Regina make contact, only this time it’s like fire and ice simultaneously, and there’s a sudden crash near the library as it happens. Emma and Regina snap their heads to the side in time to see Snow picking herself up from being thrown into a set of lockers, denting it significantly. Her eyes are wide in what looks like surprise and fear, and she leaves with a final, “Don’t think this is over. You know where to find me, and I expect you to. Tonight.”

For a moment after her sudden exit, there is only silence. Regina is the first to break it, her hands still resting on Emma’s neck. “What was that?”

David stares at them, stunned. “I think that was…I think that was the power of...” but he trails off as Emma dramatically pulls herself away from Regina running her hands through her hair. 

“I can’t do this.” She runs through the library, grabbing her bookbag on the way out the back door. 


	11. there’s only one thing on this earth more powerful than evil and that’s us

When Regina had pressed her lips to Emma’s skin and momentarily incapacitated Snow, Emma had somehow managed to forget every worry she had, the moment coming closer to perfection than any she had ever experienced, despite the obvious impending doom. She wanted nothing more than to grip Regina closer to her, melt herself into the vampire’s embrace, and return her kiss, leaving Regina feeling the same way. But as Snow crashed into the lockers several meters away, the reality came crashing back as well, harder than ever.

It was suddenly undeniable that there was something between them, that the energy wasn’t of Emma’s imagination. It was real and strong and active. It was something large enough to save their lives, something serious enough to be a threat to their enemy. Emma didn’t understand it, and she wasn’t sure she really wanted to, especially not if Regina was incapable of earning her soul or truly feeling anything for her.

So as the words “true love” almost leave David’s mouth, Emma realizes that it’s all too much. It’s everything she wants for herself and for Regina. For her mother. And she doesn’t know how to make it happen, but it’s not going to be by listening to her  _ father _ and her  _ impossible true love _ theorize Emma’s hopes and dreams without realizing that’s what they are. This isn’t a conversation she can have without exposing herself, so she runs, thinking of a plan all the way.

She’s almost certain that Snow’s plan involves killing Regina, or at least harming her beyond repair. Why wouldn’t it? That would be the ultimate revenge on her enemy. Her enemy that somehow is always in opposition to her, suddenly fighting for good when Snow finally plays for evil. And Emma isn’t sure how, but she has to save Regina. Maybe Regina can’t earn her soul, and maybe she can never love Emma, who knows. But obviously Emma’s love for Regina means something. As she gets home, she runs to her room to get ready. Gripping the stake Regina gave her all those nights ago, she heads out the door, back into the night.

She knows what she has to do.

How she knows where to go is uncertain to her, but she isn’t surprised to see that Snow is outside Regina’s crypt waiting for her. Her words confirm Emma’s suspicion that Snow was trying to lure Regina. “Oh, it’s you,” and her voice is so pleasantly surprised that her smirk could almost be mistaken for a smile. “I was expecting your girlf--”

“Don’t.” Emma cuts her off harshly. She’s trying not to panic. It’s only a matter of time before Regina inevitably arrives at their location, and somehow she needs to take care of everything before she can show up and get hurt. It’s all so stupid of her, somewhere inside she knows this, but her desire to be the hero and give Regina everything she deserves is overpowering and incomprehensible. She can’t pinpoint the moment this became more about Regina than Snow, but the shift makes Emma believe that saving both is entirely possible. 

“Why are you here?” Snow sneers.

Emma bravely steps forward, gripping Regina’s stake, running her thumb over the carving. “I’m your daughter, and I want to save you. If you wanna fight, we can fight, but…” Emma stops, taking a deep breath and regaining her composure before firmly finishing, “But leave Regina out of it.”

And Snow just cackles. “Don’t be stupid. You know I can’t do that.” Snow lunges for Emma, but Emma manages to block the hit with her arm. Standing face to face with Snow, the fight just beginning, she wishes she’d come up with a better plan than “fight Snow effectively enough to tie her up or trap her” because as the fight begins, all Emma can think is that she has nowhere and nothing to trap the vampire with, and the last time she and Snow fought, Emma was the one who was debilitated. 

Emma’s just about to say it again, to leave Regina out of it, when she’s being knocked backwards, and she kicks herself for not paying enough attention. She wastes no time in getting back to her feet and running back to Snow, prepared to fight. She gets in a good enough hit to send Snow to the ground and she prepares herself for Snow’s retaliation. There’s no way she can save Regina if she doesn’t bring her A-game. 

For a while, Emma has the advantage, and it feels good, but she gets cocky, and as she pins Snow to the ground, swinging her fist into her face with each word. “Leave. Regina. Out. Of. It,” trying to really get her message across. When she finishes making her point, she hesitates, looking at Snow lying motionless beneath her. She lets herself worry long enough for Snow to win the upper hand, reversing their positions and repeating Emma’s own actions to her, her fist cracking into Emma’s jaw being message enough.

She stops, gripping Emma by the collar of her shirt and yanking her up so that they’re face to face again. “I  _ will _ see my plan through and I  _ will _ see to it that both of you suffer. This is going to hurt Regina as much as it hurts you, maybe even more.” And she throws Emma back down before climbing up, resuming a standing fighting stance. “ _ Now get up _ .”

She’s just managed to get back on her feet when she hears her name being shouted across the cemetery.  _ No, no, no!  _ She was supposed to have more time. “Emma!” she hears again, and Snow is just standing, smirking, dropping the stance for a moment to watch the exchange.

Emma spins around to face the vampire walking towards her. “Regina! What the hell are you doing here? You need to leave!” She yells, storming over, ready to actually turn her around and give her a nudge in the right direction, far away from here. “I’ve got this, alright?”

She doesn’t know why she expects Regina to be passive and quiet about it, but she’s definitely surprised when the vampire closes the distance between them with storming of her own as she yells back at Emma, louder and far more angry. “No, not alright. What were you thinking, Emma? I’m not letting you do this alone,” and she tries to walk past towards Snow, still watching, amused, but Emma grabs her by the elbow, yanking her back.

“I was  _ thinking _ that I could handle it myself.”

“And I’m sure you could, but we’re  _ not _ going to test that.”

Emma isn’t loosening her grip on Regina’s arm anytime soon, not as long as she’s so determined to fly in there and fight Snow like she’s at no risk. “Regina, please.”

Regina’s dark eyes are locked on hers, wide and so full of fire that Emma can’t help but relax her grasp. “Why?” Her voice is gentle despite the fierceness of her expression, and she places her arm on Emma’s in response to Emma’s on hers.

“I don’t want you to get hurt.” Regina’s eyes soften as she breathes out Emma’s name, bringing her hand to Emma’s face, touching it gently. “I wanted to protect you.”

Regina’s standing so close that Emma thinks  _ what if I kissed her right now? What would happen? _ But the second her head leans a centimeter closer to the vampire, Snow’s sudden maniacal laughter pulls them apart as they look toward her alarmed.

“What the fuck…” Emma mutters. “That can’t be good.”

“It’s not,” Snow admits through her laughter, “For you, anyway. You’re just making this worse on yourselves.”

“What are you talking about?” Regina asks, her voice shaky.

“I know I shouldn’t tell you this, but I just can’t help it. I want you to know what’s going to happen to you. I want you to  _ dread _ what’s coming, knowing there’s nothing you can do to stop it.” And Snow spills it all before either of them can respond. “Regina, in my plan, you would have started the whole thing. I planned on you getting here first, but it’s working out quite nicely in reverse. Soon, I plan on you finally confessing your love for Emma and in doing so, restore your soul, but then before Emma can tell you the same, I kill her, so she dies in your arms and you have to suffer through the heartbreak that you put me through when  _ I _ had a soul. Emma’s my undoing, so with her dead, I can remain evil, and you… you will be in pain until your eventual death, left with a soul and no one to care for it.”

Emma lets out a weak laugh, “Yeah, jokes on you. She doesn’t love me. She can’t; you said it yourself.” She tries to sound casual, but Snow snorts at her.

“Wow, sounds like someone’s upset.”

“I’m not upset,” Emma deadpans.

“You  _ sound _ upset.”

“I’m not upset.”

“Wait,” Regina suddenly says, seemingly oblivious to the exchange, “How can Emma be your undoing? You proved that true love between you and Emma won’t restore your soul…”

“And do you really think I’m going to tell you how my soul can be restored?” She scoffs, “I don’t think so. I’ve already told you too much already.”

“Then why bother saying anything at all? Telling us your plan only means we know how to avoid it. Besides, you’ve counted out the fact that we could have a plan of our own. We’re just as capable of putting up a fight as you are, and just because you want this to go one way, doesn’t mean that it will.” Regina raises her voice with each point she makes, and it’s clearly pissing Snow off, who starts shifting on her feet, a look of disdain spreading across her face.

“Nobody asked you!” Snow screams out at her, “Besides, you clearly don’t have a plan, Regina. Did you even bring a weapon? And Emma, all you have is that stake, and we both know you aren’t going to kill me.”

“Yeah, well--” Emma starts before Snow interrupts her.

“Emma, just give it up. You’re standing there all helpless and sad and pathetic, carrying around that stake like a security blanket. Even if your Slayer strength is enough to fight me, it’s not enough to win, especially when I have this.” And that’s when Emma notices the bow and arrow Snow has on her back.

“Why…?”

“You’ll see,” Snow interrupts again before returning to her stance. “So are we going to do this or are you just going to stand around and mope about how you think Regina doesn’t love you?”

“She doesn’t--” But Snow’s hand smacks across Emma’s face, strong enough to knock her to the ground, and as she moves to pull herself back up, Regina runs to help her rather than attack Snow back, leaving Emma to watch in horror as Snow blindsides Regina, wrestling her to the ground before throwing a punch to her throat. Anger boils in Emma’s chest as she hears a strangled noise leave Regina’s mouth, and before she knows it, she’s knocking Snow off pinning her to the ground and throwing hits like she did earlier. “I told you to leave her out of it!”

Emma stops long enough for Snow to snort and respond, “And I told you I couldn’t do that,” before launching Emma off of her, knocking her into a headstone several meters away, and it surprises her at how much the wind is knocked out of her. There’s a ringing in her ears and her vision is turning everything into duplicates. Suddenly Regina is next to her brushing hair from her face, and Emma is surprised when Regina’s hand pulls back red.

“Emma…” She says, so soft, looking between Emma’s eyes and Emma’s blood on her hands.

“Convenient time for a snack, right?” Emma tries to joke, but Regina just looks horrified. 

“I’m not… I wouldn’t…”

“Relax, Gina, I’m just joking with you.”

Regina swallows hard, nodding hesitantly, avoiding Emma’s eyes. She speaks again, almost inaudibly, “I like when you call me that.” She glances up to Emma, making her heart stop with the passion in her eyes, and suddenly Emma is terrified that Snow’s plan is going to actually happen. “I…”

But Emma shakes her head at her. “It’s okay, go.” She nudges Regina back to where Snow is. “I’ll be fine.”

Regina looks torn, but she doesn’t move. “Emma, we’re in this together. Do you think you can stand?” 

“I’ll be fine, but we need to figure out what to do. We can’t let her win.”

“I think it’s hopeless,” Regina admits.

“No,” Emma says, shaking her head as she brushes her fingers across Regina’s jaw line. “It’s never hopeless. We have each other, and we’re going to save her, and we’re going to save each other.” Without thinking, Emma takes one of Regina’s hands in hers, stroking it gently before bringing it up to her lips and leaving a gentle kiss on her knuckles. Regina’s eyes widen for a moment, and Emma panics before she realizes that nothing happened, and Snow screams from behind Regina, almost like she’s in pain.

“Come  _ on _ !” She yells, prompting Emma to nudge Regina away. She sends Emma a panicked look before standing, pulling Emma up with her. 

“Let’s go,” Regina whispers, not daring to say anything else before running at Snow, knocking her across the jaw. Snow retaliates with a punch of her own, and Emma watches from the side, still feeling too dizzy to jump in.

She watches as her mother and Regina brawl, having an all out fist fight, both an equal match for the other. Emma thinks for a moment that Regina is going to knock her out, but then she’s being kicked backwards, landing at Emma’s feet. “Regina!” she yells as she crouches next to the vampire. “Are you okay?”

She pushes herself up, “I’m fine.” They lock eyes, and Emma suddenly can’t stand anything about this fight or having to suppress expressing herself, especially since it’s more than evident that Snow is winning the fight. She can’t fight the sinking feeling that these are her and Regina’s final moments together.

“Regina, I…”

“Emma, no. Don’t.” She climbs to her feet hanging onto Emma’s shoulder. “We’ll talk after okay?” And she starts to walk towards Snow, watching them expectedly. But Emma stops her.

“I’ll go. I don’t want anything worse happening to you, okay?” And when Emma walks towards Snow, Regina behind her, Snow groans.

“For fuck’s sake! I’m going to have to make this happen another way then,” And Emma realizes too late that Snow already has the bow in her hands, and arrow loaded up. She hears the springing of the bowstring before she sees the arrow flying towards her, and she barely has time to react as she’s suddenly being pushed backwards and something is hitting the ground in front of her. Everything is too quiet. The wind whistles, but it’s like there are no other sounds. Emma pries her eyes open to see Snow standing a distance away from her, expression simultaneously satisfied and panicked, eyes flickering between Emma’s face and her feet. Emma follows Snow’s eyes to the ground beneath her, and her heart sinks to her stomach.

“Regina?” And she can’t tell if she said it outloud or not because Regina doesn’t even react, she just winces, wrapping one hand around her stomach and the other at her chest where Snow’s arrow is pointing out. “Regina!” Emma is suddenly on the ground next to her, pulling Regina into her lap, brushing her hair from her face, holding her close and rocking back and forth, “Regina, no,” she sobs. “Why would you do that? Please don’t die, Regina. Please, please, please, I don’t want to lose you. Not yet, not like this.” 

Her fingers ghost across the vampire’s face as her eyes land on Emma’s. She tries to offer her a tight smile as her fingers grip around the arrow in her chest before pulling it out, whimpering as it leaves her body. “Emma…” The pain in her voice as she says her name only makes Emma cry more, and she sobs into her chest before realizing where the arrow had struck her, feeling somehow hopeful.

Her hand hovers over Regina’s heart, obviously wounded, but the vampire is still in one piece beneath her. “How are you not dead?” Emma mutters before looking up at Snow and asking more firmly, “How is she not dead?” It seems like a good sign, but knowing where these arrows came from, Emma tries not to allow too much wishful thinking.

Snow snorts, “Oh, she  _ will _ be. That’s not just any arrow. It’s poisoned.” She starts to walk closer to the two of them, Regina still curled into Emma’s chest. “I almost didn’t take the precaution, but it occurred to me that things might not go as planned.” She chuckles darkly before continuing, “Clearly, I was right in considering that possibility, so Regina, I suggest you apologize for earlier.”

Regina lets out a weak scoff. “Anyway,” Snow says, “In case Regina was the one I shot, I didn’t think it would be any good to have her turn to dust in your hands. I needed to trigger deep emotion. I needed one of you to watch the other die. So I imbued the arrows with a poison that would prevent her from becoming dust and spread through her body, killing her slowly. It would have killed you slowly too of course.” She adds with a shrug.

Tears are rolling down Emma’s face as she looks down to the vampire shivering in her arms. “She’s going to die?” 

“You both will,” Snow smirks.

But Emma ignores her and makes herself comfortable on the ground, keeping Regina close. “Regina…” she says, and she’s too sad to be embarrassed about the way her voice cracks. The vampire tries to smile up at her, but her eyes keep fluttering closed and Emma knows there isn’t much time left. For a moment, Emma just looks at the beautiful woman in her lap, running her fingers gently through her hair. A tear falls from her face onto Regina’s and Emma sobs as she watches it fall side by side with one of Regina’s. She wipes the tears from the vampire’s face. “It’s okay, Regina. It’s okay, I’m here.” Regina tries to move, but winces in pain. “Don’t move, okay? Just stay still. I’ve got you.”

“Emma?” Her voice is weak and almost too quiet to hear. “I’m…”

“Shh, Gina, you don’t need to say anything.” The vampire’s eyes stay closed, but she grins up at Emma, who can’t stop thinking  _ This is it _ . That this is the last time she’ll ever see her smile. The last time she’ll ever hear her name leave Regina’s lips. The last time she’ll be able to talk to her. And suddenly the thought of Regina dying without Emma having ever told her how she feels is too much, and even though making her feelings known is going to give Snow what she wants, and probably will mean the end for them both, she doesn’t care. 

Regina may die, but at least she’ll die being loved.

And so Emma slides her fingers through the vampire’s hair until she’s cupping the base of her skull, and she brings her lips down, pressing them onto Regina’s. They’re so soft, and somehow so warm, and Emma has to fight back a whimper at the thought that she’ll never be able to do this again. When she feels Regina kissing her back her heart rate becomes sporadic, and the electricity she always felt between them is so powerful that it makes Emma dizzy, and she has to pull away. She doesn’t want to, but she does, ultimately finding her head buried in Regina’s hair, tears flowing, recognizing that Regina suddenly feels different in her arms but is too afraid to figure out why.

“I love you, Regina.  _ I love you _ . Please don’t die. I...fuck, I just...  _ I love you _ .”

Emma jumps when she feels a hand softly tangle itself into her hair, lifting her head back up. She looks at the vampire in her lap, whose eyes are wide and bright and are gazing up at Emma, and for a moment all she can do is blink down at her, confused, before Regina says, “I love you too,” and then Emma’s crying again, for a totally different reason and is kissing Regina, magically healed, before helping her sit up and throwing her arms around her neck, laughing into her hair and kissing the side of her face over and over, smiling even wider when Regina giggles into her neck.

“Regina, I love you,” Emma says again before pulling her even closer to her. “I was so scared I’d lost you. I never want to lose you.”

“Emma,” Regina says, voice heavy. “I think exactly the opposite has happened.”

And Emma leans back, arms still latched to the vampire in front of her. “You mean…” Emma starts, unsure.

Regina nods, beaming at her. “My soul. I have my soul again.” And Emma squeals, crashing their lips back together, relishing in the way Regina’s lips move against hers, the way she smiles into the kiss and runs her hand from Emma’s waist to her back, pulling her closer. She never wants it to end, but when she hears an awkward cough from behind her, Emma’s eyes go wide as she pulls away to turn around.

And there’s Snow, standing not too far away, sheepishly rubbing her hands together as she glances up at them. “Mom…”

At the familial acknowledgement, Snow beams at Emma, “Hi, sweetie.”

Emma scrambles to her feet, helping Regina up with her, hand in hand. Before letting go, she looks to Regina, who smiles and nods at her, encouraging her forwards. Their hands remain connected until Emma moves far enough away that they are forced to be dropped, but the minute she finds herself in front of Snow, she throws herself into her arms, and can’t help it as another wave of tears fall from her eyes. “Mom. Are you…”

“I’m back, yes. I’m okay.”

“It’s okay if I hug you, right?” Her answer comes in the form of another hug. She feels a kiss to the side of her head, and when nothing happens, Emma grips Snow closer. “I’m so happy you’re back.” She’s not surprised to see Snow’s eyes wet with tears when they pull apart, but when they flicker to Regina, still standing behind Emma, she gets nervous. Snow motions her over, and as soon as she’s within arm’s reach, Emma is grasping for her hand. 

Snow gives a confused smile at the sight of their joined hands. “Regina, I want you to know, that I forgive you, for, you know, siring me. I’m glad you have your soul back, and I’m… I’m happy that you look happy. I haven’t seen you smile like that in, well, years. I’m not sure…” Snow shakes her head. “I’m a little disoriented from… all that, but I, uh- I hope you two will be happy together.” She sounds a little unsure, but it makes Emma smile nonetheless.

“Thank you, Snow. I hope we can become close again, like we used to be.”

Snow nods hesitantly, a small frown on her face as she looks off, distracted, before looking back at them and smiling. She looks like she’s about to say something when a noise in the distance interrupts, “Emma!” All three turn to see August and Neal running towards them, followed by Ruby, still in wolf form. “Is everything okay?” August approaches with his hands up, eyeing Snow cautiously before his eyes fall on Regina and Emma’s hands, still laced together.

“August, it’s okay. More than okay,” she says, smiling between him and the two vampires next to her. They both have their souls back.”

“Th-they do?” Neal asks, shocked.

“We do,” Snow nods in confirmation, “I…” she starts, but trails off as David appears behind the three students. “David?”

He walks slowly around to reach Snow, looking at her almost like he can’t believe she’s really standing in front of him, “Snow.”

She produces a breathy laugh as she walks to meet David halfway, and when they’re finally face to face, inches away, she strokes the side of his face in awe. “I can’t believe it’s really you. You look so...handsome.”

David chuckles, “That’s a lot nicer than what you told me earlier.”

“Earlier…” Snow mutters.

“But, hey, it’s fine. We won’t worry about that. I’m just… I’m so happy you’re back. I…” And then Snow is pulling him to her, and Emma smiles as her parents are properly reunited, looking away awkwardly the longer it goes on. She grins awkwardly at Regina, who’s laughing at her reaction as her parents make out only meters away.

Regina leans to Emma, whispering in her ear. “You should go over there.”

“What? Are you crazy? I’m not getting near that PDA,” Emma hisses back at her, but Regina shoves her lightly towards them. She turns to roll her eyes at Regina before inching towards her parents and clearing her throat as her mother had done earlier.  _ I suppose this is only fair _ , she thinks. 

There’s no hesitation as they pull her into their family group hug, and in all the ways Emma expects it to be weird, it isn’t. Their family isn’t exactly normal by any means, but it exists, and it’s more than Emma had ever expected to have. She surprises herself by crying for a third time, and when Snow rubs her back and David strokes her hair, she feels herself fall apart, happier than she ever thought she would be.

When she pulls away, wiping her eyes, Neal speaks up, “So… what happened?”

“Uh…” Emma starts, but then she sees Regina looking forlornly at her father’s crypt, separated from the rest of them, and she stops herself. “Not here.” She walks to Regina, taking her hand in hers once again and giving it a gentle squeeze before catching her eye with a smile. “Let’s go home.”

She starts walking, tugging Regina along with her, looking to everyone else to follow her. “Uh, what about Ruby?” Neal asks.

“What about her?”

“Yeah, what about me?” Ruby asks, suddenly human again, causing Neal to jump in surprise. “Did you not think I’d learned how to control it? Good to know how much you believe in me.”

“Uh, I, uh… I wasn’t…”

“Neal, calm down, I was just fucking with you,” Ruby says, laughing until Neal joined in with her. 

“It really is impressive though, Ruby,” Snow points out, “I’m glad you got it under control.”

“Uh, yeah…” Ruby nods stiffly at the vampire, clearly unsure if she can trust Snow yet. “It’s really hard to shift back the night of the full moon, and if I’m not careful balancing my emotions during the day, I can, you know, wolf out. Now  _ that’s _ interesting…” Ruby laughs again, nervously this time, before finishing with a sigh. “Anyway, sorry. Let’s head out. I promise I won’t break anything at your house,” she says, looking at August who just gives a slow nod, slack jawed.

“Uh, yeah, sure.” August leads the way back, and Emma smiles watching her parents hold hands as she holds Regina’s, swinging it back and forth just to hear her giggle.

No one says anything on the short walk back until they reach the porch and everyone makes their way in, with the exception of Snow who stops on the top step and shuffles awkwardly. David stays by her side, rubbing his thumb over her hand and reaches for Emma before she can walk in. “What’s wrong?” she asks, oblivious before glancing at Snow, avoiding her gaze. “Oh.” She looks at August through the doorway, who gives her a soft smile and a nod. “Hey, Mom, you wanna come on in? You’re welcome, always.”

Snow smiles shyly up at her daughter, “Thank you, Emma. I wasn’t sure…”

“Hey, it’s no big deal. Sorry we had to uninvite you. Trying to kill us and all,” Emma laughs nervously, immediately wishing she wasn’t trying to joke about it, but Snow laughs with her. Emma pulls her back for a moment anyways, “Sorry, I know I shouldn’t make jokes like that.” 

The vampire just gives her a smile before shrugging. “C’mon, everyone’s waiting for us.”

Once everyone is comfortable, Neal looks between Snow and Emma and Regina, not sure who to pose the question to, but he settles on Emma. “So, uh, what happened exactly?” Emma looks to Regina who looks to Snow, and then suddenly that’s who everyone is looking at.

Snow just looks at her daughter, “Emma? You wanna explain?”

She shrugs, “Uh. Not really.”

“Well someone has to,” Snow points out.

“Why can’t you do it?”

“Why can’t  _ you _ ?”

“You know I’m bad at words.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake,” Regina finally says, throwing her hands in the air and looking at Neal. “We were at the library talking to David, Emma and I, and then Snow showed up and threatened us. Emma, being the idiot she is…”

“Hey!”

“Sorry, dear, but it’s true. Emma ran off to fight Snow, and I found her getting beat up.” Emma jabs her elbow into Regina’s side. “Okay, sorry. I found Emma and Snow fighting, both were faring well, being of equal match for each other. Better?” And Emma nods, grinning successfully. “So anyway, not wanting Emma to get hurt, I helped out. It wasn’t going well. Snow shot at Emma with a poisoned arrow, but I took the hit instead to save her.”

“Regina, you missed a whole bunch of stuff.”

“I’m sorry, I thought  _ you _ didn’t want to tell the story...” The vampire smirks, poking Emma playfully in the side.

Emma rolls her eyes. “So, Snow wanted Regina to get her soul back so she could kill me and Regina would suffer through heartbreak and stuff, but she told us her plan and we could avoid it, but then Regina was dying and I was staying strong--”

“You were crying. Sobbing actually.”

Ruby snorts, and Emma dismisses the comment with a wave of her hand, “Anyway, Regina and I made magic and suddenly Mom wasn’t evil anymore.”

“Made magic? What’s that? Code for sex?” And Emma isn’t sure who blushes more, her or David.

She stammers for a moment before giving up and looking to Snow, staring at her hands in her lap. “Does that sound right to you, Mom? I didn’t miss anything important, did I? I mean, you had a different perspective.”

“I…” Snow’s eyes shift nervously around the room. “I don’t know.”

“What do you mean?” David asks her.

“I don’t know. I thought at first it was because I got my soul back and I was disoriented, but I think it’s something else. I, uh… I don’t remember anything.”

“From tonight?” Snow shakes her head.

“Not just tonight,” she admits, making Emma’s eyes go wide.

“What’s the last thing you remember?

Snow inhales deeply before looking back down at her fidgeting hands. “I remember I was chaperoning at the dance, and I saw Regina, dancing with Emma. It made me really nervous, so I started to walk over there, and I couldn’t help but overhear… vampire hearing, you know,” she explains with a roll of her eyes before they land on August. “Oh, do you guys know…”

“That you’re a vampire? Uh, yeah. Sorry,” August shrugs.

Snow nods, “No, that’s fine. I figured you did, by now, but… Anyway, I heard Regina telling you about your birthright, that you’re my daughter. Obviously I was overwhelmed, and really happy, but also you were freaking out, so I was worried as well. And then Regina was  _ right there _ , trying to suport you like she was actually there for you… I told her to leave.” She looks away, pausing for a moment before continuing, eyes on Emma. “You passed out, so I had August help me take you home. I changed you into your pajamas, tucked you in, told you that I loved you and kissed you on the head, and the next thing I knew, there were shooting pains everywhere. It felt like someone was tearing out my heart. When I realized what was happening, I ran. I passed out in a crypt somewhere. That’s all I remember, up until an hour or so ago, when Emma and Regina… well, when I had my soul.”

“So you don’t remember what happened, at all?” Ruby hesitantly asks.

Shaking her head, Snow takes a deep breath. “I need to be filled in. I need to remember. What if something happened? What if there’s something we need to be worried about? I mean, you guys didn’t see me constantly, right? If I was really evil, anything could have happened…”

“Hey,” David says, rubbing a hand over her back. “Snow, it’s okay. Nothing that happened can be so bad that we have to remember right now.”

“Yes, and nothing you did involving us is relevant right now. We’re just happy to have you back. Right, Emma?” Snow smiles at her former enemy, squished onto the loveseat beside her daughter, fingers intertwined. “Emma?” 

“Hm?” Emma looks at her distracted.

“I was just telling Snow that we don’t need to worry about what she did right now…”

“Oh, yeah, it’s okay.” 

“You don’t sound so sure…” Snow starts.

“Sorry, it’s not that. I was just wondering… how do we know you won’t go evil again? We have a reunited family after all. And like… you got your soul and you lost your memory, shouldn’t Regina have lost hers too? I mean... “ Emma trails off, suddenly unsure. 

“Well, as for your first worry, remember what I told you, that once a soul is earned, it’s stable. She would only lose it if someone were to force it out of her or if she were to reject it herself by choice.”

“Uh… force?”

“There are ways.”

David nods, “Regina’s right. Magic is the only way to do it though, so we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

“What! Magic is real?”

Regina snickers. “Emma your mom is a vampire, you have a friend who’s a werewolf, and you’re the Slayer. Are you really surprised that magic exists?”

“I mean… not really, I guess. But it’s still weird. So what, there’s like witches and stuff?”

“Yes.”

“Uh, okay. So what about the memory thing? Regina, you said you got your soul too… if that’s true, wouldn’t you have also lost your memory? I mean… I’m not saying I don’t believe you. It’s just…”

“No, I get it.” Regina smiles at Emma, preparing to explain, but Ruby jumps in first. 

“Wait, wait. I feel like you guys are leaving out some crucial information. I’m gonna need you to tell me exactly what happened to bring about this soul stuff. Because you two are holding hands, and I know for a fact that that would not have happened yesterday because Emma’s a wimpy baby gay.”

“Hey!”

“Well am I wrong?” Emma shrinks further into the seat beside Regina. “Okay, so spill. You totally skipped over the how’s of it all.”

And Emma is blushing, and she glances at Regina who is also blushing, and then she looks at Snow who looks more uncomfortable than the two of them combined, and it occurs to Emma that whatever she and Regina are now is probably really confusing and maybe even disturbing to her mother. Before Emma can comment, David suddenly blurts out “It was True Love’s Kiss, wasn’t it?” 

“You guys kissed?” Ruby practically squeals.

Emma and Regina make eye contact, both incredibly aware that they haven’t exactly talked about it yet. “Well, it is the only way I know of for a vampire to earn their soul…” Regina starts.

“And you did say your soul came back now… and so did Snow’s…”

“And it was after we kissed….”

“So…”

Regina looks at David with a firm nod. “Yes, I think that’s what it was.”

“Wow.” August says. “Ah, so you said Regina was dying? So your kiss saved her life and also restored the souls of two vampires?”

Emma smirks, “Yeah, I’m just that good a kisser.” Regina snorts and Emma gapes at her. “What? I’m joking. And also serious, so if you want any more, you better keep your mouth shut.” Ruby whistles. “Anyway, so, you definitely have a soul, Gina?”

The vampire smiles at her, “Yes, dear, I do.”

“Awesome,” Emma smiles for a moment before it falters. “Um, so I’m still wondering about the memory thing, but I’m also worried about something else. I know you’ve told me this a lot already, and we literally just talked about it, but I’m scared that someone’s going to take away your soul and your happiness… or that I might do it accidentally. And I just… I don’t want that for you.” 

Regina smiles at Emma and puts her hand on her cheek, leaning in for a quick kiss. “You're so sweet, but I don't think we have anything to worry about. Remember when I was talking about our birthrights? Well, I think there's more to it that we don't understand. The two of us are total opposites, and true love and true evil coming together is significant. I don't fully understand, and maybe we never will, but I think that something about...  _ this _ ,” she says, gesturing between them, “Transcends the evil in the soullessness that  _ I  _ come from, which would only be made stronger by the true love that  _ you _ come from. And like you said, we just talked about the earning of souls, and I think that mine is safe as long as no one takes it away from me.”

“I promise that I'll protect you. I won't let anybody take your soul away.” Emma grins back at Regina and grips her hand tighter.

“It sounds like the two of you need to have a  _ serious _ conversation.” Ruby says snickering. “Maybe we should go. We can always talk more tomorrow? Does that sound good to you guys?”

“Uh, I guess that sounds fine. If you guys are going to be talking about... You know,  _ stuff _ , I'm not sure I really want to hear about it so I'm with Ruby.” August says. “Hey Neal, is it cool if I spend the night?”

“Sure. So, is it safe for us to walk home now that our immediate threat is no longer a threat?” he tries to joke, but it falls flat. “Sorry,” Neal adds with a shrug. 

“No, it's okay. I understand. While there are definitely still threats and other vampires lurking about the city, it should be safer because it's back to the way it was before. Predictable. Or at least I hope so. I'm still really concerned about what I don't remember. I have a really bad feeling about it.”  Snow worries her bottom lip, rubbing her hands together.

“I think it should be fine for now, really.”  David tries to be comforting, but Snow doesn't look very convinced.

“Yeah if anything comes up, we can worry about it later. But it's been a long day, Mom. I think you should get some rest before you freak out about everything that's happened. And if it really bothers you that much I'm sure that David could fill you in on some of what we know. I mean, he probably will tell you about the library and his job, well,  _ your _ job, and stuff. You're supposedly on sabbatical.”

Snow turns to David, jaw slack, “You're my replacement? I didn't see that coming,” she jokes. “You never really liked books that much.”

“I've gotten quite used to books in the last eighteen years. I guess that's some other stuff I've got to tell you about too. Your place or mine?” The two of them laugh together and Emma smiles at how happy they look. “If you guys want, I can drive you home?” David offers.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. Thanks David!” August runs upstairs to get his things together, but before he goes to the car, he smirks at Emma. “Hey, it’s a good thing Marco’s out of town this weekend, huh?” And much to Emma’s embarrassment, he wiggles his eyebrows.

“Oh my god. Goodnight, August.”

“Goodnight, guys. Don’t get into too much trouble.” He says, closing the door. 

Emma groans, before turning to Regina. “Do you wanna go upstairs? It is getting pretty late…” 

Regina hums her approval, “Yes, I think that’s an excellent idea.”

So they make their way up the stairs, Emma tugging Regina behind her. She stops in the doorway, pushing Regina’s back into the doorframe before crashing their lips together, more passionately than she had done before, finally not under the eyes of her parents or her friends. Regina smiles into her lips. “So what do you want to do now?”

Emma grips Regina’s hips, continuing to push her into the doorframe, chuckling as she takes Regina’s bottom lip between her teeth and tugging on it lightly. “I don’t know, you tell me.” And then they’re kissing their way to Emma’s bed, where they end up lying face to face.

Emma looks at Regina, fingers running through her hair, and they’ve been in bed together before, but for some reason this feels different, almost heavier. So much has changed. They’ve kissed, Regina has a soul, their feelings are blatantly out in the open (True Love’s Kiss and all), aside from an actual conversation about it.

But Emma is looking at the vampire in front of her, and she looks so stunning that Emma just thinks  _ fuck an actual conversation _ .

Regina seems to be thinking something similar because suddenly she’s pulling Emma towards her by the collar of her shirt, putting her lips back on Emma’s, and Emma responds enthusiastically by tangling one hand into Regina’s hair and propping herself up with the other, letting Regina pull her closer. 

She straddles Regina’s thighs and then Emma is the one pulling Regina as she forces her upright, her tongue running it’s way across Regina’s bottom lip before she bites it and gives it another soft tug, and when Regina moans into her mouth, Emma thinks she’s going to explode.

She grinds into Regina for the friction, muttering her name. “I know you want me,” Regina growls into her ear, nipping at her lobe. “I can hear your desire.”

And Emma gasps as Regina tugs at her hips, pulling at her like she’ll never have enough, her voice sensual and deep. “You really can?” And Emma is almost embarrassed at how squeaky her voice sounds compared to Regina’s, but suddenly she’s being flipped to her back, Regina straddling her, hovering over her, eyes dark, and she’s not thinking about her voice anymore.

Regina chuckles impatiently, “Yes.” And Emma can feel her cheeks burning, wondering if she should feel self conscious. Regina’s mouth meets hers again, and Emma is so sure she’ll never get used to how amazing it is to kiss her.

The vampire drifts to leave a trail of kisses from the corner of Emma’s neck to her jawline to her throat to that soft spot between her shoulder and her neck and she just sucks, and all Emma can think is that she hopes it leaves a mark. “What does it sound like?” Emma gasps out, distracted by the softness of Regina’s bare skin as she creeps her hands under the base of Regina’s shirt. “Is it…?”

“It’s  _ hot _ ,” Regina says, her tongue trailing up Emma’s neck, “Knowing how much you want me. Knowing the effect I have on you. Hearing it.” She brings her mouth back to Emma’s, her tongue continuing its exploration. 

“You know,” Emma whispers, pulling her mouth away from Regina’s to graze her lips against the vampire’s ear, “You can do more than hear it, if you want.” She brings her hands further up Regina’s back, dragging her nails against the skin. “You can feel it.” And the noise that leaves Regina’s throat makes Emma desperate.

The vampire pulls away slightly, looking conflicted. “Maybe we shouldn’t…I don’t want you to...” She starts, but Emma doesn’t care what Regina’s trying to say. Fuck conversations, fuck age differences, fuck vampirism, fuck it all.

“Fuck me.”

She doesn’t give Regina time to argue with her as she slams their mouths back together, reversing their positions once again, lifting Regina’s shirt over her head as she looks up in shock, surprised at the initiative Emma’s suddenly taking, but she’s breathing heavy, and based on the fact that she doesn’t even require air, the Slayer takes it as a good sign and throws Regina’s shirt to the floor before doing the same to her own and wrapping her arms around the vampire bringing them closer together, skin on skin.

It feels better than she imagined it would.

But it’s not good enough. She’s unclasping Regina’s bra as she asks, “Is this okay?” And Regina is nodding fervently as she slides the straps down her arms before tossing the garment away, exposing the vampires bare chest before her. Emma wastes no time in bringing one of the brunette’s erect nipples into her mouth, taking delight at the strangled gasp that leaves Regina’s mouth. One hand reaches for her other breast, while the other wraps around her back, holding her close.

“Emma…” And the way Regina is saying her name makes her dizzy. She says it again, less breathy, and Emma pulls back a little to meet her gaze. “Emma.”

“Is everything okay?” She asks, running a thumb across Regina’s jaw line.

“More than okay,” she smiles. “It’s just… I thought… Aren’t you…” Emma smiles patiently back at her. “Aren’t you a virgin?”

And Emma snorts, “Yeah, so?”

Regina just looks at her with amazement. “You just seem so…”

Emma smirks, “I’ve done my research.” And then her mouth is back on Regina’s as she presses their bodies together, grinding her core into Regina, eliciting a throaty moan from the vampire, who’s suddenly flipping Emma over again, pushing her back into the mattress. Emma glares up at her. “Uh, excuse you, but _ I  _ was on top.”

“I believe you’re mistaken,” Regina purrs.

“I’m not.”

“Prove it.” 

And Emma does, as she uses one arm to reverse their positions once more, not hesitating to trace her hands down Regina’s sides towards the waistline of her pants, groaning as she realizes that they’re her leather pants, and it dawns on her that they are tighter and more difficult to remove. 

“Regina, you haven’t worn these pants in days. Why now?” Emma whines.

“Are you really complaining?

“Don’t get me wrong, they’re sexy as hell, but they’ve got to go.”

“Then make them go.”

“What does it look like I’m doing?” And Emma crashes her lips on Regina’s before sliding herself down the vampire’s body, watching as she arches her back instinctively. “How attached are you to these pants?”

“Let’s just say I’m less attached to them, than I am to you,” and Emma snorts before spreading Regina’s legs, and taking the crotch of Regina’s leather pants between her teeth and tearing a hole and then ripping the pants off her body. 

She smirks up at Regina who’s gaping at her. “You just did that.” 

“Slayer strength,” Emma says as she discards Regina’s destroyed pants and returns her mouth to the vampire’s chest, enjoying every sound leaving her mouth and every movement she makes underneath her. Emma kisses her way up the vampire’s body, nipping at her skin every so often. She nudges her knee in between Regina’s legs, pushing it softly against her, and Regina’s response is immediate as her own leg raises up between Emma’s, taking her by surprise and causing Emma to moan loudly. 

“God,” Regina mutters, “That was the sexiest noise I’ve ever heard.”

“Just wait, I’m sure there’s more where that came from.” And Regina tries to push Emma over, fighting her for dominance, but the Slayer holds her in place. “Gina, you bad girl, I said it was  _ my _ turn.” And she doesn’t hesitate before sliding off the vampires underwear and slipping her hand between her legs.

She watches Regina writhing beneath her, mewling Emma’s name as she moves her fingers through the vampire’s wet folds before sliding one finger between them, followed by a second, encouraged by the clearly enthusiastic noises coming from the brunette beneath her. Emma uses her thumb to rub circles around Regina’s clitoris, just as Emma had done to herself many times before.

“Fuck, Emma…” Regina moans beneath her. “How…”

“Practice,” Emma smirks before kissing the vampire again, loving the way her noises sound when they echo in Emma’s mouth.

“I thought…” Regina mumbles into Emma’s lips as Emma slides her mouth to the vampire’s ear.

She gives it a soft nibble before whispering, “Not with other people. On myself...thinking of you.” And she works her hand harder and faster, raising her head in time to watch the vampire come undone underneath her, and the sight is nearly enough to make Emma come along with her on the spot. 

Before she knows it, Regina has her flipped over and is sliding down her body and tearing her bra off to fondle her chest with her hands before sliding them down to Emma’s pants, and she’s about to complain about the loss of contact when she feels Regina’s tongue on her stomach, and then her pants being slid down her legs, and she almost passes out when Regina’s tongue is suddenly lower, tasting her.

When she moans, it bounces off the walls and Regina echoes it back from between her legs, and it doesn’t take long for an orgasm to ripple through her body. As soon as it does, she pulls at Regina’s hair, prompting her to return so she can bring their lips together once more and feel their skin flush against each other. Their passionate kiss becomes slow and full, and everything about the moment is perfect to Emma.

Regina pulls back, her hair falling into her face, and she’s never looked so beautiful. She rests her arms on Emma’s sternum and smiles up at her as Emma runs a hand through the vampire’s hair, brushing it out of her face. “Hi.”

“Hi,” Emma says, grinning back.

“You look really pleased with yourself,” Regina smirks.

“Try pleased in general,” she corrects as she goes for another kiss. “I didn’t disappoint you did I?” 

Regina shoots her a disbelieving look. “Are you serious?”

“Okay, I’ll take that as a  _ no _ , then?”

“More like a  _ hell no _ , Emma.” Regina says as she moves to the side, tucking her head onto Emma’s shoulder, draping half of her body against Emma’s and tugging the blanket over them. “You’re so warm.”

“The perks of having a living bloodstream,” Emma jokes.

“Ouch, Emma, that’s cold.”

“You’re cold.”

Regina scoffs before peering at Emma, her voice growing soft with concern. “You don’t really mind that do you?”

“No, of course not,” Emma says, lifting Regina’s head to steal another kiss. “I like everything about you.”

“But you didn’t always,” Regina points out with a laugh.

“No, I think I always did, I just didn’t know it. Back then, when you told me to accept who I was, I definitely thought you were talking about sexuality. And those leather pants... damn. I couldn’t stop staring at your ass.”

“Too bad you destroyed my pants. Now you’ll never see that again.”

“Oh please, you definitely have more pairs than the one. Besides, your ass looks good in everything. Including nothing, as I’ve recently discovered.” Regina rolls her eyes at Emma before burying herself into her blonde hair. “Are you tired?” Her voice is only a mumble against Emma’s neck, and she can’t help but giggle, “Regina, no, that tickles.”

“Good,” she says, just coherent enough before tickling Emma more with kisses to her neck. And as she does so, a thought occurs to Emma, and the question leaves her mouth before she can stop it.

“So, is Slayer blood really an aphrodisiac?”

Regina stops immediately, propping herself up to look at Emma. “I told you it was.” Emma nods slowly. “Why? What are you thinking?” Regina asks, a telling smile spreading across her face.

Emma shrugs, “No reason.” Regina snorts before resuming her former position. For a moment they just lie there together, silently, and Emma can’t believe this is real. “We never talked about… you know. The true love stuff.”

“If you don’t want to, we don’t have to. It is really serious, if that makes you uncomfortable.”

“It’s not that…” Emma starts as she begins to mindlessly trace random shapes against Regina’s bare back. “I was just wondering… if you wanted to be my… I mean, if you wanted me to be your--”

“My friends with blood benefits? Don’t think I forgot about you asking me that,” Regina says, snorting.

Emma’s body immediately heats. “Uh… I… you know, nevermind, we can talk about that later. I was going to ask if you wanted to be my girlfriend?”

Regina smiles as she tugs Emma’s chin to bring their lips together. “I would like that, yes.”

“Cool,” Emma says, unable to retain her grin.

“I heard that you know.”

Emma’s eyes grow wide. “Heard what?”

“You know what.”

“Whatever, I know you like it.” Regina gives a positive hum before pulling Emma even closer. “I’m glad you got your soul, Gina. You seem more...free. More happy. It makes me smile.”

“You make me smile.”

Emma kisses the top of her vampire girlfriend’s head, completely content in a place she’s happy to call home with a person who makes her feel special, knowing that her parents are within reach and happy together, and she’s not alone. She hopes she never has to know what that’s like again. She doesn’t have to fake her smiles anymore.

When she hears Regina murmur “I love you” against her ear, she knows she’s telling the truth. Her superpower is always right, and she’s as grateful for it as she always has been. But now, as she lies down tangled up with her vampire, her girlfriend, her true love, she finds herself grateful for both her superpowers.

A superhero was all she ever wanted to be, and now she’s finally become one, embracing it as closely as she embraces Regina as she says the words back to her. “I love you too,” and she knows it’s just as true. She can feel it in her blood.

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget about the comment contest! Your words matter too!
> 
> Writers and artists spent months creating the fics and art you enjoy - it would mean the world to them if you commented to tell them what you liked! The SQSupernova team is also sponsoring a contest for commenters, and you can find out more [here](http://sqsupernova.tumblr.com/post/164792441694/announcing-the-sqsn-comments-contest-a-reward-for)


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